Balance of Power: The Return
by Mugen no Ken and Razorsaw
Summary: [Savers][Part 4 and Epilogue up!] More than five years after the final battle, new enemies rise in both the Human and Digital Worlds, forcing Masaru to rejoin his comrades and face these new challenges.
1. Challenge of the Olympians

**Disclaimer: Digimon Savers is the property of Toei Animation, Bandai, and Akiyoshi Hongo.**

**Author's Notes: This story takes place after the epilogue at the end of the Savers series, five years from the defeat of Yggdrasil. It's also recommended you read the one-shot story by Megaraptor The Scribe, "The Path a Man Walks," as it takes place within the continuity of _this _story.**

**Digimon Savers: Balance of Power  
****Prologue: The Return  
****Part One - "Challenge of The Olympians"  
****By Infinity Blade and Megaraptor the Scribe**

_The Zanzaga Forest: an area of the Digital World with rich, abundant plant life, stretching for miles. That is, until it finally gave way to the two areas that surrounded it, a seemingly infinite, icy mountain range, or a dry, continuous desert. So thick was the fauna, that anyone who didn't know how to navigate the terrain could easily become lost. In the deeper parts of the forest, the shadows cast by the trees made it almost impossible to distinguish night from day. And those were only a few of the dangers, for the plants were often more than an obstacle – they could also easily turn out to be a threat to one's life._

_But for all the harshness of the terrain, the Zanzaga Forest was known as a protected place. And the name of that protector was Mercurimon, of the legendary Olympus Twelve. He ruled from the Infinite Ice Ridge, overlooking the vast landscapes from high above on his mountainous domain. And he was not its only guardian, for a young human boy named Ikuto and his partner Falcomon had also served as its defenders. Finally, there was the wise and sagely Jureimon, who protected the young digimon who were too weak to take their place in a harsh world that demanded strength._

_But those days were long past, and of those protectors, only Jureimon had remained there in recent years. Ikuto and Falcomon had found their fates elsewhere, and Mercurimon had tragically passed on. All that remained in the forest was was their legacy._

_To some, that legacy would almost count as a form of protection on its own. But in recent times, the digimon who lived in the Zanzaga Forest found that idea to be of little comfort, as something swept in and challenged that legacy._

_For one young digimon currently fleeing for his life, the idea of trusting a legacy wasn't just foolhardy, it was _suicidal

-

With all four legs hitting the ground as rapidly as possible, the digimon named Leormon panted, thinking only of how much his life was now in danger. And with a quick look behind him, his fear was realized – his pursuer was still following him, and thusly, he pushed himself forward and picked up speed.

The pursuer was a beast much larger than he: a large, red-colored pig with fur that seemed to be on fire. The digimon, a Boarmon, snorted wildly as it rampaged after his tiny foe. His greater mass ensured that he was able to keep up, allowing him to smash through any obstacles that lay in his way, including ones Leormon led him into with the intention of slowing him down. With each snort, flickers of flame came from the beast's nostrils, filling Leormon with fear that his pursuer would give up the chase and simply try to fry him.

Scrambling around a tree, which the Boarmon simply charged through moments later, Leormon's face brightened. Straight ahead of him was a large pile of heavy-looking boulders. With their larger size, they would likely serve as a way of slowing the larger digimon down.

And with that, Leormon leapt forward, spying a space between the rocks that he thought he could squeeze through. However, once he was in he found, to his _extreme_ annoyance, that it did not go all the way through. Then, when he attempted to move back out, he found it was much harder getting out than it was getting in.

He growled. He was _stuck_.

Then, looking back over his shoulder and out the crevice in wide-eyed horror, he saw the Boarmon rapidly charging toward him.

_Now I've done it!_ Leormon thought. _As if I wasn't already as good as dead _already! He closed his eyes tightly and grit his teeth, bracing himself for the inevitable.

"THAT'S FAR ENOUGH, YOU BASTARD!"

The cub-like digimon's blue eyes snapped back open. That voice, it could only mean...!

Before Leormon could complete that thought, the air was filled with the loud thud of two objects colliding.

When he looked back out, the Boarmon was rolling across the ground. The reason for this was quite evident... A young human man hung in the air for a few moments, an aura of energy manifesting around his fist before he landed back on the ground in front of Leormon, who had just managed to free himself.

The Boarmon, once righting itself, shook its head violently and glared at the human... and found the brown-haired young man glaring right back at him. It snorted in rage, flames billowing out of its nostrils, and reared its head back, preparing to fire...

"MEGA BURST!"

Before it could do anything, a massive beam of golden energy shot out from over the mass of rocks. It struck the Boarmon, engulfing its body completely completely. Its eyes widened in shock, the creature gave an agonized squeal before it's body blew apart into bits of data, which then reformed into a smaller egg that then fell to the ground.

"Amazing!" came an enthusiastic shout. Leormon turned, and saw a child-sized humanoid digimon with a body made of rocks come running from behind the pile of boulders. "Simply amazing, Masaru-sama! He never stood a chance!"

The human, 'Masaru-sama,' replied with a grunt. "Gotsumon," he said, annoyed, "how is it 'amazing' every time we kick someone's ass? Especially a grunt like _this_ sap? He was just a punk."

The ground shook as something else emerged from behind the rocks – this time, a much larger digimon, as tall as many of the surrounding trees. It was an orange dinosaur digimon with blue stripes, and with a brown helmet covering his horned head. "Well, I'm sure Leormon would say different, Aniki," said GeoGreymon, before glowing brightly and shrinking down into the much smaller form of a yellow-colored, two-legged lizard who wore red arm-bands.

Masaru gave another grunt, and crossed his arms. "Yeah, I'm sure, Agumon. Gotsumon, do me a favor and hide that guy's Digi-Egg somewhere. We don't need any patrols finding it and figuring out someone turned one of their friends into a would-be omelet."

With those words, his lizard-like partner seemed to start salivating.

"Of course, Masaru-sama!" Gotsumon chirped enthusiastically, giving the human a stiff salute before dashing off to his appointed task.

With that, Masaru finally turned around. Leormon looked up, and winced. Masaru's expression was painfully blank and unreadable... that is, until his lips curled into a snarl and he pounded a fist into his palm and cracked his knuckles. "_Leormon,_" he intoned dangerously.

Leormon gulped hard, wishing to crawl back into his hole. "H- Hey Masaru," he said, finding his voice suddenly squeaky and his legs unable to move. "'Sup...?"

Masaru thrust a hand down and grabbed Leormon by the scruff of his neck. One quick tug pulled him into the air, and it was quickly followed up by a smack to the head. "Ouch-ouch-ouch!" the lion-cub cried.

"I'll show you 'what's up!'" the human cried, raising Leormon up to his eye level, shaking him vigorously. "Just what the hell do you think you're doin', sneaking out of camp when you know this Apollomon guy's troops are swarming all around this place? You remember why we're here, right? Don't you know what words 'covert operation' mean!?"

"Well, he might not," Agumon said. "I mean, you didn't either, until Kudamon-"

"Not helping, Agumon!" Masaru interrupted, seething.

Agumon backpedaled, grinning sheepishly. "Right..."

Meanwhile, Leormon felt like his brain had been rattled to the point he couldn't tell left from right. "Um, I was, urgh," he shook his head to clear it, and then glared, baring his fangs to the human. "I was just scoutin' around, is all! I figured they wouldn't catch someone my size-"

"Well you figured wrong!" Masaru snapped. "We're here to see what these guys are up to, and to and try and see if we can't free Jureimon! And that does _not_ mean running around, trying to keep you from becoming pig food!"

Leormon grit his teeth defiantly, but his eyes showed a deeper regret. Masaru snorted in annoyance, and dropped the cub back to the ground, spinning around on his heel. "Anyway, we'll be lucky if their whole army doesn't know we're here now. C'mon, we need to meet Gaomon and the others at the- uhh- render-"

"Rendezvous point," Gotsumon piped up, walking back towards them, dusting the dirt off of his rocky palms.

"Right," Masaru snapped back, followed by him easing his stance a little. "At the very least... Leormon's helped us find out there's no one besides that guy right in this area. So lets get movin' before that changes."

Masaru started off, and the three digimon quickly fell into stride behind him. Leormon stared at the young man's back, feeling both ashamed for disappointing him and angry at the same time. At times, Masaru had such an unbelievably foul temper, but at the same time, his courage often surprised him. He knew most humans were weaker than digimon, without the aid of a Digi-Soul, so who else would dive head first into a hostile army's encampment just to save one Child digimon – much less a screw up like him?

Thinking on it, it was easy for Leormon to understand why he followed Masaru... for all the frustration the human caused him, he found himself inspired by the courage beneath the harshness and bravado.There was no way he was as strong as Agumon, and he couldn't evolve like the human's partner either. As for Gotsumon... well, Leormon figured the mineral-type digimon's single-minded loyalty counted for _something_.

It had only been a few short months since the lot of them had met. It had been by chance, but... for some reason, there had been something familiar about their encounter... even when Leormon had felt the sting of Masaru's fist. There was something nostalgic about about the strength he had shown – he just didn't know what it was, as Leormon had only lived a very short life. But what he did know was that he had to go with Masaru and his followers, that he had to become as strong as they were.

If he did, something told him he would find the answers to something. Something _important_.

"Hey, um," Leormon spoke up finally, after several moments of overwhelming silence. "Thanks, Masaru. For saving me."

The human didn't respond for a few seconds, but then, he looked back at Leormon, grinning and giving the cub-like digimon a thumbs up. "Eh, don't mention it. Just, next time, if you have to do something like that, try and piss off someone stronger, okay? Thinking about it, I was just pissed 'cause that Boarmon guy too easy to beat!"

Leormon's face lit up, and he nodded vigorously.

It was then that all doubt left Leormon's mind, and he knew Masaru would lead him to whatever he desired to find.

-- --

Trekking across the Zanzaga Forest (and what was more, doing so_ discreetly_) was no easy task. The four of them found that there were multiple areas of patrol, and that the digimon covering them were all fire-based, many of whom were Boarmon just like the one they had battled, or tiny PetitMeramon,who were nothing more than balls of flame with eyes, short limbs, and a mouth. The Boarmon, as Masaru well knew, were just mindless beasts that served as "muscle", and it was their job to take down any "intruders." The PetitMeramon, on the other hand, were Baby digimon who couldn't put up much of a fight, but could easily evade more powerful attacks, and thus get off quickly to report what they'd seen and gather reinforcements.

Masaru was currently doing some scouting of his own. He had climbed up a tall tree, leaving his digimon companions on the ground to keep watch. The tree was high enough that when he neared the top, he could see out over the treetops. In the distance, he could see their destination: a clearing surrounding a lake, that lay at the foot of a rocky mountain.

It wouldn't be that easy, of course. It never was.

Once they'd gotten close enough to the lake, they made sure to approach cautiously, and sure enough, they spotted what couldn't be seen from a distance. Standing on the beach was another digimon, this one a humanoid dragon man-type, whose blue body was adorned with flame-painted armor. This was obviously another member of this "Apollomon's" forces, but he wasn't patrolling the beach. Rather, he just stood there, staring at his reflection in the water.

Frowning, Masaru furrowed his brow. There wasn't much chance they'd be able to sneak by him... he was distracted, but not heavily so, and they'd likely be unable to move past without making a sound. And they certainly wouldn't be able to search the beach for their friends, or wait for them either.

"What do we do, Aniki?" Agumon asked.

"I don't know," he sighed. Every instinct told Masaru to just barge in and take this guy on... that is, every instinct except _one_. And he knew this particular voice of restraint came from dealing with one very troublesome blond rival. He turned to Gotsumon, and asked, "You know anything about this dragon guy?"

"He's a Fladramon," Gotsumon said. "I've heard there's a number of them in Apollomon's army...higher ranked than the Boarmon, though not _incredibly_ powerful."

"Yeah, about that," Masaru hissed. "We've heard a lot about this Apollomon guy and his army, but no one's explained why he or any of any of these other 'Olympus Twelve' guys would bust in and try to take over Mercurimon's old stomping grounds..."

"Isn't that what we're here to find out?" Leormon asked. "But then... this Mercurimon guy was one of the Olympus Twelve too, right? Maybe they think this forest is theirs' anyway."

Masaru snorted. "Mercurimon would never have condoned something like this! He cared about the digimon in this forest! If his buddies had done this when he was alive, he would have run them off in no time flat!"

"So... what _do we __**do**_, Aniki?" Agumon repeated.

Masaru grit his teeth, and thought for a moment longer. His instincts screamed to go forward, while that seemingly small voice of reason kept telling him to hold back. But at the same time, the voice of caution was offering him no _solutions_, either.

Realizing that, Masaru knew what he had to do. He pounded his fist into his opposite palm and moved forward, past the bushes, and beyond the cover of the tree line.

"Ma- Masaru-sama!" Gotsumon shouted, alarmed at the young man's action. The rocky digimon followed after him, but came to a quick stop before entering the clearing. Agumon, meanwhile, grunted "Hoh!" and followed after his partner.

Masaru glanced back over his shoulder, and saw Leormon looking from Agumon to Gotsumon. The lion-like digimon nodded to himself, and inched out of the clearing behind Agumon, careful not to draw attention to himself.

The Fladramon, his attention drawn by the noise Gotsumon had made, quickly turned in the direction. The sight of them caused him to instantly assume defensive stance. "A _human_!?"

At this, Masaru gave his widest possible grin. It was partly to throw this new opponent off, and partly because there had been no new enemies charging out of the woodwork. "Yo!" he cried, putting his arms behind his head. "'Sup?"

"You will state your business!" the Fladramon snapped, pointing a claw at Masaru. "This land is currently under the protection of the great Apollomon-sama and his army, and anyone living here is to answer to the authority of his Generals!"

Masaru continued smiling. "You know, all this militaristic stuff is kinda... well, it's bull-crap. You know who Mercurimon was, flame-boy? He was never this uptight. Heh, Mercurimon. Now _there_ was an awesome guy. See, this one time, he and my dad-"

Flames ignited between Fladramon's claws. "Don't test me, human!" he shouted. "Your presence in this world is insult enough, so will tell me what you're doing here!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Masaru replied, following up with derisive laugh. "The name's Daimon Masaru! Just figured I'd take an afternoon stroll, you know? Work out the calf muscles, see if there was anybody in this army of Apollomon's worth challenging..."

Fladramon's eyes widened, and his stance faltered. "Masaru?! D-Daimon Masaru?!"

Masaru stopped smiling, and his expression changed into a scowl. He cracked his knuckles, and said, "Yeah. You've heard of me?"

Fladramon's twitched again, and that was all Masaru needed to act. Within seconds, he bridged the distance between them, drawing back his fist, which was now glowing brightly with the power of his Digi-Soul. He swung forward, and punched Fladramon square between the eyes, cracking his helmet. The force of the blow sent him flying back, splashing across the surface of the lake before submerging beneath the waves. Quickly, Agumon joined Masaru at his side.

There was a brief silence, and then Fladramon burst out of the water, his body becoming engulfed in flames as he rose into the air.

"FIRE ROCKET!" the dragon man screamed, shooting toward them like a burning comet.

Agumon took a breath, his entire head heating up and turning red, just before he spewed out a large stream of flames from his mouth. "BABY BURNER!"

Fladramon flew down, colliding with Agumon's attack. The blast succeeded in halting his momentum, as well as throwing him up further into the sky. As Agumon's attack subsided, and Fladramon's flames flickered out, and he started to fall back to the earth. The dragon man gave a feral snarl as flames started to swirl up around him again. "FIRE-!"

"CRITICAL BITE!"

A yellow streak flew through the air just moments before Fladramon recoiled, a vital point on his chest being bitten before the flames could engulf him a second time. His eyes widened in horror, but was unable to scream before his body blew apart into data and reformed into a Digi-Egg... which then fell into the lake with a minor "plop."

Masaru smirked, looking down at Leormon as the lion cub landed back on his feet. "Nice," he said, giving the digimon a thumbs up. "I was wonderin' if you were setting up for something, Leormon."

Leormon just grinned mischievously. In truth, Masaru was surprised. He had half expecting that he'd need to evolve Agumon again However, Leormon had been able to strike a fatal blow with just one attack, and that was without evolving.

Intelligence and power. Masaru knew where he'd seen that before, and it was something he himself didn't have a full handle on, even after all his years in the Digital World.

"C'mon, guys," Masaru said, starting to head off. He paused for a moment, and then called out. "You too, Gotsumon. The coast is clear."

"C-Coming, Daimon Masaru-sama!" Gotsumon cried, scampering out of the bushes.

The group continued onward, searching the beach for a sign of the people they'd come to meet. Eventually, they neared the base of the nearby mountain, and there, they saw something odd. It was the mouth of a cavern, with a boulder lying in front of it rather conspicuously. Masaru wasn't the sharpest person in the world, but he knew a fair bit about survival, and that this was obviously deliberate.

"Well, I guess I can't expect much," he grunted, as he neared the boulder. "I doubt they've been here long. This wouldn't even fool _Agumon_!"

His partner gave him a confused look. "What wouldn't fool me, Aniki?" he asked, innocently.

Agumon stared at him for a moment, and Masaru shook his head. "Whatever. Gotsumon, move that rock, would'ja?"

"At once, Masaru-sama!" the rock digimon replied, and he held out his hands. His eyes glowed for a moment, before the rock began to rumble, before it was slowly rolled out of the way by an invisible force. Once the cavern was exposed, Gotsumon slumped, looking a bit spent.

"Alright!" Masaru cried, running forward. "Come on, everybody, let's g-"

Before the human could could even blink, Masaru found himself charging right into a volley of explosive seeds and razor-sharp shuriken. He cried out, and flailed his body to the side. Then, just as he was about to get his wits about him, something blue and red came flying at him.

Masaru acted quickly, and with nearly inhuman reflexes, reached out and blocked the boxing-glove covered fist of his attacker. "Hey, Gaomon," he said, grinning devilishly.

The humanoid, dog-like digimon wearing gloves and a red bandanna quickly leapt back, landing next to a brownish gray and purple-colored bird, and a floating digimon that looked like a pink and green plant.

"Masaru!" Lalamon squeaked happily, flying towards him.

"Masaru!" the bird repeated, running forward, only to stop a moment later. "Sorry about that, Masaru," said Falcomon. "We couldn't be sure just who was coming in..."

Gaomon, the dog, nodded and stepped up to the human. "Though we knew that if it was you, you wouldn't consider it a problem," he said, and then extended a gloved hand. "Nice to see you again."

Masaru took Gaomon's hand and shook. "Same here. Everyone else here?"

Gaomon nodded . "They are." He then eyed Masaru's companions as they entered the cavern, his gaze finally resting on Leormon. He stared at him wide-eyed for a moment, and then his eyes gaze narrowed scrutinizingly. He glanced back quickly at Falcomon and Lalamon, who shared similar expressions, and then to the human. "I see you have a new follower," he said, shortly, causing Leormon to blink at him in confusion.

"Yeah," Masaru said quickly, just before spinning Gaomon around and ushering him forward. "Lets go meet everyone!" he said "No need to keep them waiting, right?!"

"R-right," Gaomon stammered, as Masaru continued to push him along.

"Oh, and Gotsumon," said Masaru, "close the cave back up for us, alright?"

Gotsumon stopped following them, and then slumped forward a bit. "R-right away, Masaru-sama," he said, wearily.

Once that was done, they all moved further into the cave, finding that a light ahead of them was guiding their way. As they drew closer, they found a campfire, and that sitting around it were the two PawnChessmon, Kamemon, and Piyomon. After the latter greeted him enthusiastically, and the former three greeted him wordlessly, Masaru glanced around. "Say, everyone's here except Kudamon," he said, having half expected to hear a derisive comment from the little weasel by now.

"Kudamon, as you know, has rejoined the Royal Knights, and they don't want to show an aggressive hand," said Gaomon. "At least... not just yet. Though I've been acting as their 'vassal'," (this word choice earned a snicker from Lalamon and Agumon, which was promptly ignored), "and have been helping in their efforts to strengthen their relationships with various groups across the Digital World, it wouldn't have as much of an impact as one of them showing up. They don't want to act until Apollomon's army makes an open act of aggression."

"This isn't open?" Masaru asked, annoyed. "They came marching into this forest, and either drove everyone off or took them prisoner! They're even holding Jureimon captive, and this is just as much his forest as it was Mercurimon's!"

"But they haven't reverted anyone," Gaomon replied. "When they first came, Masaru, they demanded that everyone either submit or leave. Jureimon stayed of his own accord, and any others either stayed or couldn't get out in time."

"People only ran or gave up because there was no way they could fight back," Falcomon snarled. "And the Olympus Twelve's army is well known... Apollomon isn't even here himself, just his generals, Agnimon and Vritramon."

Lalamon blinked her black, pupil-less eyes for a second, and then held her hands over where her nose would be if she had one. "Um, Masaru, Agumon?" she said, interrupting.

"Yeah?" they both asked, and found her staring at them, Leormon, and Gotsumon.

"When's the last time any of you had a _bath_?" Lalamon asked, almost gagging as she did so.

Masaru, Agumon, Leormon, and Gotsumon then just looked at one another and shrugged. Lalamon gave a sigh of exasperation, floating to the other side of the campfire and settling down on the ground next to the PawnChessmon. "Ugh," she muttered. "_Boys._"

The black PawnChessmon gave her a knowing nod, and patted the plant digimon on the head reassuringly. Meanwhile, her white companion looked somehow offended (despite his armor) as he shot his better half a look. She then shrugged back at him.

"_Anyway,_" Gaomon said, clearing his throat. "The Knights have given us a plan."

Masaru grinned, despite himself. "Yeah? Whatever it is, I bet it's Kudamon's idea."

Gaomon nodded. "The plan simple. We can't go in there fists swinging-" Agumon looked disappointed while Masaru looked unsurprised "-_but_ we are going to demand an audience with them, asking them to free their captives, and then agree to a meeting with the Royal Knights."

Masaru found himself grinning again. "Yeah, and you guys asked me to come here. You know that's not going to work out, and that they'll end up swinging first."

Gaomon sighed, and nodded.

Falcomon stood up, pounding one of his wings into another "When... err, if they do attack us Sleipmon, Dukemon, and UlForceV-Dramon are waiting on the edges of the Forest, watching for our signal."

"Our signal?" Agumon asked.

Falcomon looked at Gaomon, who suddenly looked very put out. He sighed, and crossed his arms, saying, "I told them to wait for a large explosion."

Agumon and Masaru looked extremely delighted at this news.

"I just don't understand this!" Gotsumon said, suddenly making his presence known. "Why are the Olympus Twelve even doing something like this in the first place? I mean, they've never made a move like this before, have they?

Gaomon looked at Gotsumon for a moment, and then back to Masaru. The silent question was obvious – with knowledge of the Olympus Twelve's current actions, had the rocky digimon regained any memories of his prior existence? Masaru just shook his head, and Gaomon nodded, speaking carefully.

"That, we don't know," he said. "But Omegamon is understandably bothered by this course of action. With Yggdrasil having sealed himself away since our battle five years ago, it's been up to the Royal Knights to try and maintain the peace of the Digital World. But even before that, the Olympus Twelve had isolated themselves in their individual domains. After Mercurimon was killed, they closed off all of their territories, and even refused a summons when Omegamon contacted them on the Knights' authority. The truth of the matter is, we have no idea what any of them besides Apollomon are up to, or if any of them are aware of what his army is doing."

"The group isn't even the Olympus 'Twelve,' anymore," Falcomon said, a distinct hint of bitterness in his voice. " Mercurimon wasn't..." He paused, looking away from the others. "Mercurimon wasn't the first one of them to die. Their numbers have been dwindling steadily over the years. After we all came back to the Digital World, I tried to join them, but I wasn't even allowed to approach. I thought maybe they'd become afraid for their survival, but... with this? Who knows?"

"Hey, don't worry about it," Masaru said, trying to sound comforting. "We'll figure out what's going on."

"And if we _don't_ have to fight," Gaomon said, though sounding as if he didn't fully believe it himself, "then there's still a chance we can settle this peacefully. And Falcomon... if you're still not sure, the offer I gave you is still open. No one will think any less of you, or-"

"No!" Falcomon spun around, almost looking insulted. "Mercurimon wouldn't have just taken this and hid! Neither would have Ikuto!" Then his expression softened, and he spoke, quietly. "I'm in, Gaomon."

Gaomon gave Falcomon a nod. "Right. Then we'll move out in two hours. Everyone, get some rest, because we may have a hard battle ahead of us."

"Can we throw them in the lake first?" Lalamon asked, pleadingly.

Masaru just rolled his eyes. Gaomon took a few steps away from the everyone as the group started to disperse and move around. Leormon moved off by himself, while Agumon and Piyomon began to converse chattily Lalamon floated off somewhere, while Gotsumon began to engage both Kamemon and the PawnChessmon in conversation, naively unaware that he'd be the only one saying very much.

"Masaru," Gaomon said, low but just loud enough for the human to hear. "Can I speak with you?"

Masaru blinked, but walked over to Gaomon, squatting down in front of him. Gaomon then led him off to the side. "Hey. What's up?"

"That lion digimon," Gaomon said, eying Leormon, who was now lying curled up in a dark corner of the cavern. "He is who I believe he is, correct?"

Masaru was silent for a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah. I think he is. We met Leormon a few months back when checking out the place where Yggdrasil used to be. Where we had to..." He paused, closing his eyes. "You know."

Masaru didn't really like thinking back to those events. They had been the most troubling of the battles they had fought, both before and after he had been forced to take the lives of two people that were dear to him. Not even facing Yggdrasil had been as difficult... in those events, he'd been possessed by an unfaltering drive, an assurance that he would win. But that instance... even if it had been undone in several ways since, he still felt it was where he was at his weakest.

"Right," Gaomon said, sadly. "So, you haven't told him?"

Masaru's eyes opened. "I didn't think it was a good idea," he said, after a moment "Agumon agreed with me." He smiled, and looked back at Leormon.

"He needs a second chance, too, like Dad got," he said, quietly. "Even if it's not quite the same. But even then, it's not my decision to make. We all decided to come back to this world on our own, and you know you'll see your partners again, somehow. But... I dunno, what if we told him, and he remembered Dad and everything he'd done? It'd be like you coming back, and remembering Touma, only you wouldn't know if you'd be able to see or talk to him. To handle something like that... he'd need to learn how to be a banchou all over again."

Masaru looked back to find Gaomon smiling at him. "They'd both be proud of you, Masaru," the dog said.

Masaru grinned, sheepishly. "Yeah? Well, you sound a lot like Touma yourself, Gaomon."

Before either of them could say anything more, Masaru found himself instantly being drenched with ice cold water. "There we go!" chirped a sing-song voice that could only belong to Lalamon. Masaru looked up to see the plant digimon holding a bucket.

Over on the other side of the cavern, Agumon was roaring with laughter. At that, Lalamon turned slowly, aiming her malevolent gaze at him. Then, in her harshest, sweetest voice, she screeched "YOU'RE NEXT!"

Agumon suddenly looked very pale.

-- --

When the group left the cave some two hours later (it had taken a bit longer, as both Agumon and Leormon had put up a fight), they began their trek towards the main encampment for Apollomon's army. Everyone had decided to come – even Gotsumon, who was now prattling onto himself about how now that he was all wet, he'd be developing moss.

After walking a ways, Gaomon stepped forward and pointed south. "Their main camp is about two miles in this direction. As we get closer, we'll undoubtedly end up coming across more of their scouts, so Falcomon, I want you to take point. You know this terrain best."

And so they went, with Falcomon leading the way. With his knowledge of the forest terrain, which came from years of training and fighting in it with Ikuto, they were able to proceed rather quickly. This took them off the well beaten paths, and back into the denser undergrowth of the Zanzaga. Though this place was infamous for its unyielding wilds, he led them through it with ease, and more than once, he took them past a near encounter with the patrols.

Masaru noticed too that Falcomon was being very quiet, and not simply for the sake of trying to remain undetected. There was a quiet anger about him, unlike anything he had ever sensed from the digimon. It was understandable, given the situation. Rather ironically, he found himself hoping that this anger wouldn't impair Falcomon's judgment.

Finally, Falcomon came to a sudden stop, throwing his wings out in either direction to keep the group from advancing further. Listening closely, Masaru could hear the sounds of numerous bodies moving and creatures talking up ahead.

"We're here," Gaomon whispered, stepping up beside Falcomon. "From here on out, everyone move with caution. And remember, if a battle starts, the majority of us will focus on freeing the hostages..."

"While Agumon and I work on taking out Apollomon's goons," said Masaru, to which Agumon nodded.

"Right," Gaomon said. The other digimon gave their silent agreements, Gaomon led them out of the thick growth of the forest. They emerged into another large clearing... Masaru knew this place, as the same clearing where he'd battled three powerful enemies some years before.

It had been back when Kurata had all but declared war on the Digital World, and was sending his creations to attack and harvest digimon for their data, all to serve his own ends. Here, in this exact place, they'd found Jureimon and a number of other digimon, crippled by Kurata's assault, and had been forced to defend them from three people Kurata had twisted to aid him in his madness.

What he and the others saw in the clearing was a disturbing mirror of those events.

The entire area was filled with dozens of Apollomon's soldiers, all of them fire-based digimon. And in the center of the clearing was Jureimon, his bark pale and gray, large chunks of it chipped away from his body. The tree digimon's leaves were shriveled and dying, and many of them had fallen off. But even then, his roots remained firmly in the ground. Huddled around him were various sorts of digimon of all shapes and sizes, who looked either injured or incredibly frightened.

There were two, however, that were clearly _not_ prisoners. They stood with them, but carried themselves with authority and assertiveness. One was smaller, and looked like a wild-haired human wearing red and black armor. The other was much larger, and looked like a large, orange-winged dragon, with mostly copper armor that included two blade-shaped cannons on each arm. He seemed to be making a show of glaring viciously at the prisoners, while the other simply watched, smirking. Masaru guessed that these were the generals Gaomon had spoken of, Agnimon and Vritramon.

Masaru had started moving, not fully realizing his own actions. Then, he felt Gaomon grab his arm, which was already holding his Digivice Burst, causing him to stop. "Masaru," the dog digimon said sharply, "please, not yet. We have to maintain some sense of ourselves. Like I said..."

"Let them attack first," Masaru said coldly, pulling himself back and pocketing his Digivice. "Right."

"This is... horrible," Piyomon said. "Just what do they think they're doing to them!?"

"HEY!"

The shout drew the group's attention, and they were suddenly very aware of the fact that they were standing out in the open. They turned in the direction of the voice, and saw a large, humanoid digimon with dark colored skin. His most notable features were that he had multiple faces and limbs. Furthermore, moving at his side were two other digimon: one who looked like an armored, flame-colored moth; and another that resembled a dragon with a body made entirely of fire save for his head, which was a metal helmet.

"All of you halt!" the multi-armed digimon, an Asuramon, snarled. "This land is-"

"'This land is under the control of the great Apollomon,'" Masaru said, interrupting the larger creature. "We've already heard it, thanks!"

The Asuramon balked, and then sneered. He looked as though he might attack them, but before he could make a move, the moth-like digimon flew in front of him. "And just who are you?" the digimon, a Shadramon, demanded, pointing a cannon-like hand at the group."

"We come on behalf of the Royal Knights," Gaomon said. "We wish to speak with General Agnimon and General Vritramon, on the issue of your... occupation of this land."

The third digimon scoffed, pointing a fiery claw at Gaomon. "You have some nerve, Child, coming in here like you have some kind of author-!"

"Oh, come now FlareLizamon, if they want to speak with us, the least we can do is hear them out," said a voice said from behind the trio of digimon. The lot of them spun around, and quickly prostrated themselves on the ground.

"Our apologies, Agnimon-sama!" they each cried in unison.

Standing there, revealed to them, was one of the two digimon that they had seen in the center of the encampment – Agnimon, the wild-haired looking one that most resembled a man. His voice was surprisingly soft, and he had an amused-looking grin on his face. "Come now men, it wouldn't do well for us to attack an emissary of the Royal Knights... at least, not at first," said he. "_Great_ and _noble_ defenders of the Digital World that they are."

The sarcasm in his words was so thick that Masaru figured even Agumon caught on to it right away.

The ground shook as the second of the two came lumbering up behind Agnimon, causing Asuramon and his two companions to crawl out of the way. "If that's what these jokers really are," Vritramon growled. "Why would the Royal Knights send a bunch of Child-level digimon and a human to speak for them? Are you all liars, or are the Royal Knights so frightened of Apollomon-sama that they do not want to come themselves?"

Gaomon narrowed his eyes. "I assure you, we are who we say were are. Every one of us has fought alongside the Royal Knights at least once, and this human..." he pointed at Masaru, "is Daimon Masaru, the son of the great Daimon Suguru!"

The two generals shared looks of mild surprise, and then studied the group more intently. "Oh, we see now," said Vritramon. "The lot of you are the ones who allied with humans, just like the Royal Knight Sleipmon. The ones who were too weak to rely upon their own power..."

"Hey now, that's not-!" Masaru began, but was cut off.

"And you are Daimon Masaru, eh?" Agnimon asked. "No, I'm afraid this does not change my mind about the Knights' supposed cowardliness."

"Please, Agnimon-sama," Gaomon said, making sure to show the general proper respect. "Who we are is not important. What is, is that we've come to talk, and hopefully reach an agreement that does not end in conflict..."

Agnimon waved a hand at him. "Very well. And just what exactly do you want to 'talk' about, Child?"

Gaomon frowned at his show of respect not being returned in kind. "You have several prisoners here, and the Knights would have to ask that you free them," he said. "And then, that you allow them all safe passage out of the Forest.

"Oh," Agnimon said calmly, crossing his arms as his grin grew wider. "That's all then, is it? I'm afraid you've misjudged us, my little Emissary."

Vritramon laughed. "My brother speaks the truth! These digimon are all our new allies, who have agreed to help spread the word across this land, and tell digimon everywhere who their new protectors are..."

"BULLSHIT!" Masaru exclaimed, stepping forward.

Lalamon sighed. "Oh boy. Here we go..."

"Quite a mouth for a human," Agnimon said, looking from Masaru to Gaomon. "Really, you lot should really learn to keep your pets in line."

Masaru clenched his hands into fists. "You say these digimon your 'allies?' Half of them are hurt or injured! And Jureimon looks like he's dying! Is this how you treat your friends?!"

Vritramon growled, and stomped forward until he was staring right down at Masaru. Everyone else grew tense, but Masaru didn't even flinch. "You are the 'great' Daimon Masaru? The whole Digital World has heard much about your exploits. Grand tales, all of them... You, Daimon Masaru, are said to be a human who fights alongside digimon, who defeated Yggdrasil, the Digital World's _god, _with nothing more than your fist! We've all heard the story. But you know what I think!?"

"Now, now, brother," Agnimon said, keeping his calm tone. "Watch your temper. You don't want to excite it _too_ much."

Masaru only glared at him coldly. "What's that?"

He suddenly thrust out a clawed hand, grabbing Masaru and lifting him high into the air, till they were about face-to-face. "I think those so-called 'grand tales,"Vritramon continued, "are what you would call 'bullshit!' That the only thing 'great' about you is your digimon partner! I believe the so-called legends about you and your father are lies, and that you have been nothing but lucky this entire time! And now, that luck ends!"

At that, Vritramon raised his other claw, lifting it high above Masaru's head. Everyone gasped, and Agumon cried out, "Aniki!" before preparing to lunge forward, only to have Gaomon hold him back.

Vritramon laughed, and swung his claw downwards...

...Only to have Masaru, hand glowing brightly with his Digi-Soul, catch the dragon's hand and hold back his strength. Vritramon's eyes widened in shock, and Masaru glared up at him, letting go on the anger he'd been repressing.

"You think our power is nothing more than a bunch of lies?" he growled. "That all I do is use Agumon for myself?! I'll show you, you bastard... the power of a human and a digimon that fight together!"

At that, he threw Vritramon's arm to the side, causing the dragon to cry out as it made a loud snap. His clawed hand opened, dropping Masaru, whose Digi-Soul now flared up around his body. "Gaomon!" the human cried. "What was that you said about them attacking first?!"

Gaomon sighed, though he obviously had fully expected something like this to happened. "PawnChessmon!" he commanded. "Rescue plan, version A-2! Defend Falcomon and Kamemon as they approach the prisoners! Piyomon, Lalamon, everyone else, get ready to fight! Masaru, you-"

"Already on it!" Masaru growled, as Agumon ran up in front of him. "Digi-Soul Charge...!" he shouted, slamming his fist onto the top of his Digivice, his Digi-Soul turning white as it entered the device. "OVERDRIVE!" he cried, following up by releasing the spiraling blast of energy towards Agumon.

"Agumon, evolve!" Agumon cried, as his body became encased in a rapidly growing sphere of energy, like unto a massive Digi-Egg. When it reached a size many times greater than Agumon, it shattered, revealing what Agumon had become: a towering light dragon digimon, with gleaming red and white armor. "SHINEGREYMON!"

ShineGreymon then rose into the air, glaring down at the assembled forces of Apollomon. At this, Vritramon growled, and took aim with the blade cannons mounted on his arms spun around. "CORONA BLASTER!" the dragon roared, firing a volley of energy blasts at ShineGreymon.

The blasts struck the light dragon's armored body, but they barely seemed to make an impact. He then looked down at Masaru. "Well, Aniki?"

"We'll kill two birds with one stone!" Masaru shouted. "Lets clear up the competition and make sure that Sleipmon and the Knights have their signal!"

"Right! Hoh!" ShineGreymon cried, spreading his wings. They began to glow with intensity before the energy formed around his body, focusing into his hands into the form of a massive fireball.

"GLORIOUS BURST!" he cried, thrusting his hands forward and launching the great fireball. The two generals ducked down, the force of the fireball flying over their heads forcing them down on their knees, just before the attack struck a mass of their soldiers, sending an explosion of rock and flame into the air. When the dust finally cleared, it revealed a crater filled with newly formed Digi-Eggs.

With the majority of the army shell-shocked, Falcomon and the others wasted no time in making a break for the section of the camp where Jureimon and the others were. However, they were stopped, as Shadramon dropped down in front of them. "Not so fast!" the insect digimon shouted. "Flare Bust-"

However, before he could finish his attack, a blue blur leapt at him. "GAO RUSH!" he shouted, delivering a volley of punches, following it up with a powerful uppercut that sent Shadramon flying. Gaomon then landed on both feet, directing Falcomon and the others onward.

Agnimon growled at how quickly things had gone wrong for them in a short time. Cursing the uselessness of his soldiers, he spied Falcomon, Kamemon, and the PawnChessmon, and moved to stop them...

"NUTS SHOOT!"

... Only to be stopped by a rain of explosive seeds that came down around him. He sneered, and spun around, launching a fireball from his fists at his attacker, Lalamon, who quickly flew out of the way. Then, Gaomon leapt at him, swinging his fist at the general's face.

Agnimon smacked Gaomon away, and the dog digimon flipped back, landing beside Masaru. Vritramon rubbed his arm and roared, leaping next to Agnimon. "Brother," the dragon said said, staring up at ShineGreymon. "We can't win this, not when they have an Ultimate digimon with them..."

"No, I'm afraid not," replied Agnimon. "And he must be dealt with before we concern ourself with the Child digimon." He then looked to Masaru, glaring hatefully. "Daimon Masaru! Your insolence ends here!"

"Oh, believe us," Lalamon chirped. "Masaru's insolence is impossible to stop. We've tried!"

Agnimon laughed at that, and instead of attacking again, took a hold of Vritramon's clawed hand. "Fools! We are the greatest warriors in Apollomon-sama's army!"

"And we would not dare disgrace ourselves by allowing ourselves to be bested by a human!" roared Vritramon, squeezing his brothers hand. "Now behold, the power that our Master has given us! Jogress..."

"...Evolution!" finished Agnimon, and moments later, the two digimon's bodies burst with light, nearly blinding everyone around them. When it faded, only one digimon remained: a taller digimon, with Agnimon's face, and a body that seemed mostly composed of parts of Vritramon. The combined digimon laughed, and assumed a defensive stance, pointing his arm cannons at Masaru. "Behold! We are Ardhamon!"

"They combined," Gaomon said, sounding a bit amazed.

Meanwhile, Masaru only stared at Ardhamon defiantly. "Is that supposed to impress us?" he replied.

Ardhamon didn't answer Masaru. Instead, he opened his blasters and took aim, shouting "BRAHMA SUTRA!" He thrust his arms out rapidly, sending a volley of fireballs straight at Masaru and the others. ShineGreymon dropped down, crouching in front of everyone to block the attack. However, unlike Vritramon's Corona Blaster, he seemed to actually feel this one, as he cried out as the fireballs struck him.

"ShineGreymon!" Masaru shouted. "You alright?"

"Just... just fine, Aniki," ShineGreymon grunted, and looked ahead at Ardhamon. "But _you..._!"

ShineGreymon lunged at Ardhamon, sending a punch flying at the smaller digimon. Ardhamon shot into the sky, while ShineGreymon's fist simply struck the ground. Growling, ShineGreymon looked up and spread his wings, energy flaring out from them as he took to the air after him.

Masaru let out a hard sigh, and tried to get a handle on the situation around him. Falcomon, Kamemon, and the PawnChessmon had already reached the prisoners, but were in the process of defending them from Apollomon's soldiers – the PawnChessmon were holding out their shields, creating a shield that Asuramon and several fiery digimon called Meramon were hammering at with their fists.

"We have to help them!" Lalamon squealed. "Not even the PawnChessmon's shield can withstand that for much longer."

Masaru frowned, and for a moment, agreed with her, and was prepared to rush off to their aid... before, that is, he noticed the expression on Falcomon's face.

The bird digimon was wearing a look of determination. Masaru recognized it, as the one he himself wore, and one that he had seen Agumon, Leormon, and Piyomon wear would they wouldn't back off from impossible odds. And he had seen Falcomon with that same expression, once when Ikuto was sick, when he refused to back down when his partner needed help.

Falcomon let out a screech that echoed out across the area, as a purple aura flared up around him. It rose up off of him like a flame, shocking everyone around him.

"Th-that's...!" Gotsumon gasped, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Gaomon smiled. "The power of Ikuto's Digi-Soul!"

"But... it's been so many years! And with his human so far away... how can he still tap into it?!" Gotsumon wondered out loud.

"Falcomon evolve!" the bird shouted. Like Agumon before him, his body became encased in the visage of a rapidly growing Digi-Egg, which quickly shattered and revealed a tall, bird man digimon with purple armor, a red mask, and two wings: one black, and the other white and much smaller, with sharpened, blade-like wings. "RAVEMON!"

Ravemon only gave a momentary glance at the situation around him, as the PawnChessmon's shield faded and Asuramon and his group backed away in fear. However, moments later, they seemed to regain their resolve, and charged forward, which caused Ravemon to glare. "_AME NO OHABARI – BLADE OF HEAVEN_!" he cried, thrusting his sword into the ground. Instantly, dark clouds formed overhead, bringing with them purple lightning that struck down, throwing the soldiers into the air and reverting all of them save Asuramon into Digi-Eggs.

"How... how is this possible?" Gotsumon asked, his voice still heavy with disbelief.

"You probably wouldn't understand, Gotsumon," said Lalamon, "not having a human partner. But for all of us, we can still feel our partners' Digi-Souls. And even after five years, I know Yoshino is alright... the connection we have can never be broken!"

Gaomon nodded, and Piyomon piped up as well. "I wasn't even with her as long, but Chika's Digi-Soul is still with me too! Not even my being reborn as a Digi-Egg completely took our bond away!"

Leormon just stared, looking more surprised than even Gotsumon. "The Digi-Soul," he breathed. "So that's what it really is..."

Meanwhile, high above everyone's heads, Ardhamon and ShineGreymon were locked in an aerial battle. After throwing several blows at one another and launching several attacks, they both drew away from another and attempted to stare the other down. Seeing that this wouldn't work, both digimon sneered, and began to focus another attack.

"GLORIOUS BURST!"

"BRAHMA SHIL!"

Simultaneously, both of them created large fireballs, and launched them at the other at the same time. The two attacks collided in mid-air, creating an explosion of flame, which ShineGreymon then charged through, flaring up the energy aura coming off his wings and speeding toward Ardhamon. "SHINING BLAST!"

ShineGreymon collided with Ardhamon, and the force of the blow sent the smaller digimon falling out of the air. The Jogressed digimon plummeted before crashing into the ground violently. For a moment he laid there, prone and unmoving. ShineGreymon hovered down, looming over him as he slowly started getting back up to his feet.

The combined general looked up, only to see two of his Meramon subordinates being cut down, literally, by Ravemon's wing. A look around the battlefield showed that many of his soldiers had already been regressed to Digi-Eggs. And while there were a number rallying behind Asuramon and FlareLizamon, he knew that the odds didn't look good for them...

"No..." he growled, clenching his claws together. "This can't be over... no..."

"ROYAL SABER!"

"ODIN'S BREATH!"

"SHINING V-FORCE!"

Ardhamon's world became consumed in explosions as multiple attacks flew out of seemingly nowhere. Two blasts of energy had struck a number of his soldiers, as had a massive wave of wind and ice. "What's happening?!" Ardhamon demanded. Moments later, Asuramon emerged from the cloud of dust, supporting an injured FlareLizamon, looking very fearful.

"Ardhamon-sama... it's them... the Royal Knights..."

Sure enough, emerging into view next were three of the legendary Royal Knights. Leading them was the six-legged, centaur-like form of Sleipmon, and flanking him were the white armored knight, Dukemon, and the draconic blue knight, UlForceV-Dramon. Each Royal Knight then took a position around the clearing, with Sleipmon walking past the paralyzed Asuramon and FlareLizamon.

"I see everything is going as expected," Sleipmon remarked, dryly, focusing on Masaru for a moment. Then he looked at Ardhamon, and pointed his bow, Muspelheim, at the general. "Ardhamon. Will you submit, or do you wish to prolong this foolishness?"

Ardhamon snarled, glaring up at Sleipmon. "Royal Knight," he growled. "Do not think that your treachery will be forgiven..."

Sleipmon looked surprised. "I find your accusation of treason somewhat ironic," the Knight countered.

"You are the real traitors here... you side with humans, the ones who killed Apollomon-sama's comrade, Mercurimon..." Ardhamon shot back.

"I sided with the humans who opposed that injustice," Sleipmon replied. "There is quite a difference."

Ardhamon laughed bitterly. "Oh, you think so, do you?"

"I know so," Sleipmon said, calmly, and then looked to where the prisoners stood. The PawnChessmon's barrier had collapsed, and both digimon had since collapsed out of exhaustion. "Kamemon, see to both of the PawnChessmon! Ravemon! Escort the captives to the forests' edge. Magnamon is waiting there."

Ravemon nodded silently, and took off for the clearing's edge, beckoning for the other digimon to follow him. Each one did, save for one: Jureimon, who had not moved once since the whole ordeal had begun.

"Jureimon!" said Sleipmon, beseeching the elder digimon. "Please, go with Ravemon. It is not safe for you to remain.

"No," the elderly digimon said, his voice weak and barely audible enough to reach everyone in the clearing. "I... I r-refuse."

"Why!?" Masaru exclaimed, running up to where Sleipmon stood. "We came here to rescue you!"

Jureimon closed his eyes, coughing raggedly. "No... this forest is my home..." he wheezed. "I have called this forest my home for years... more years than any of you have been alive. I will not abandon it... I will live, and die in these woods, either naturally or... or in the process of protecting it..."

"_Such a noble sentiment, honored elder!_" boomed a voice, that seemed to come literally out of the sky.

Masaru noticed the new voice made Ravemon stop cold in his tracks, the former digimon prisoners coming to a sudden stop behind him.

Flames surged down from the sky, landing in the clearing and then dispersing, revealing a figure that glowed as brightly as the sun itself. Following that, came a ray of light that struck down next to the first being, dispersing to reveal a second entity, concealed in an aura of darkness.

Both beings' auras faded, revealing the entities forms. The first was a massive, powerfully muscled individual that resembled a lion, complete with long mane of orange hair, red armor and massive flames burning on his arms. The second was a smaller, more lithe-looking being, clearly female and clad in white and blue armor. She carried a weapon with sickles on each end, and on her shins, she wore two guards that looked like crescent moons with faces.

Ardhamon let out a wild laugh, while Sleipmon and the other Knights' eyes widened in surprise. "Apollomon-sama... Dianamon-sama..." looking from one to the other. "You've come!"

The masculine one of the two, Apollomon, took a moment to survey the situation, glaring as his eyes fell on Sleipmon. "Royal Knight, you have some nerve interfering with us, invading our new territory..."

"Your territory!?" said Dukemon. "This land may have once been ruled over by Mercurimon, but that gives you no right to come in here and do as you please! You've hurt innocent digimon, and run others from their homes!" He pointed his lance at Jureimon. "Just look what your soldiers have done to this poor digimon!"

"We have done nothing!" Ardhamon shouted, defiantly. "He was like this when we arrived!"

Apollomon turned to look at Jureimon. "He has then? So, you are dying, old one?"

Jureimon opened his eyes slowly. "I am... even we digimon, shaped from data, can grow withered and frail... especially one such as I... a being who draws his life from the world around him... and it seems that this world has become poisoned..."

"And that's where we are agreement," Apollomon said, approaching and holding out a hand to Jureimon. "This world _is_ being poisoned. The so called god of this world has abandoned us, and humans and traitors run about, bringing hypocrisy and ruin. We are trying to prevent this, Jureimon, through the use of necessary force."

Jureimon stared at Apollomon, and then, to the larger digimon's surprise, he smacked the Olympian's hand away. "I think... Apollomon... that you are blind to what this poison really is..." he said, his gaze hardening as he looked past Apollomon and Dianamon, at Masaru and ShineGreymon. "Daimon Masaru!" he cried, his voice strengthening.

Masaru felt a jolt run through him, as he stared at the elderly digimon, surprised at the sudden summoning of strength. "Jureimon?" he asked.

"You must understand!" said Jureimon, pointing a withered hand at the two Olympians, bark crumbling off of it as he did so. "The poison I speak of... you must discover what it is, and the sins that these so called 'protectors' have embraced in the name of bringing order to this world! Please... I leave it up to you!"

Dianamon scoffed at Jureimon's words, placing a hand on her hip. "Are you quite done, old man?"

Jureimon looked at her, and then slumped, leaning on his cane. He closed his eyes, and spoke softly, "Quite."

"This insult cannot be forgiven. You said that you would not abandon this forest,," said Apollomon, "that you would sooner die protecting it than run, correct?"

"Correct," Jureimon said, calmly.

Apollomon held up his hand. "We are this Forest's protectors now. We are this world's."

"So you say."

Apollomon frowned, sadly. "Then let me give you a final gift. One such as you does not deserve to suffer."

Realization suddenly hit Masaru. His eyes widened, and he ran forward. "JUREIMON!" he screamed. "Dammit, run! Get out of there!"

Jureimon said nothing. Did nothing.

A fiery orb formed, supported between two tall structures on Apollomon's armor. "Sol Blaster," he said, calmly, and both Masaru and Sleipmon surged forward. But neither of them were nearly fast enough, as a massive blast of fire burst forth, and flew down at Jureimon, consuming the plant digimon in its flames. Masaru froze, his and his companion's eyes widening in horror, as Jureimon splayed out his arms, looking strangely at peace as his body burned away.

Finally, the flames subsided, and all that was left of Jureimon was a green and gray-colored Digi-Egg.

The shock of the moment was quickly broken, as Masaru let out a scream of anger, charging at Apollomon. As the Olympian turned to face the angered human, Sleipmon took charge of the situation on his end.

"Ravemon!" Sleipmon cried. "Quickly! Get the hostages away, _now_! We shall cover your escape!" Ravemon broke from his shock, nodding intently - though he looked rather disappointed - and flew off, leading everyone away. Kamemon, however, remained, as he was supporting both PawnChessmon on his shoulders, and they had become too weak to walk.

"YOU SONS OF BITCHES!" Masaru roared, his Digi-Soul erupting around his body once again. He leapt into the air, drawing his fist back, sailing high due to the enhanced strength given to him by his Digi-Soul's power.

Apollomon reacted quickly, despite his apparent surprise from the human's quickness and ferocity. He threw out his own fist just as Masaru did his, and shock became etched on his face as he realized their blows were matched strength for strength.

Apollomon jerked his hand back, allowing Masaru to fall back to the ground, landing on both feet. The god man digimon stared at his fist in amazement. "You... you human..."

"Brother?" Dianamon questioned, looking just as awed as he was.

"He really is Daimon Masaru..." Apollomon said, unsteadily. "The son of Daimon Suguru. The man who fought Mercurimon all those years ago..."

"Don't you mention his name!" Masaru shouted, his voice heavy with rage. "Mercurimon was greater than any one of you! He protected this forest from invaders! He raised a human child as if he were his own son! He gave his life to save all of us! _You_, Apollomon? You're nothing like Mercurimon at all! You're nothing but a coward!"

"You..." Apollomon growled, and then screamed down at the human. "You know nothing of me!"

"I know enough!" Masaru screamed, pointing at Apollomon. "I felt it when our fists came together! A man puts his entire soul into his fist! You have power, Apollomon, but it's the kind that has no passion! That's how I know you're not the kind of man Mercurimon was!"

"SHUT UP!" Apollomon roared, and he reared forward, slamming his fist into the ground.

Masaru jumped away, letting Apollomon's fist strike the earth, cracking it asunder. Masaru hit the ground, and skidded back a bit before stopping. He looked back at ShineGreymon, who hung in the air, as if awaiting his Aniki's next order. "You ready, ShineGreymon?!" he asked.

"ALWAYS!" ShineGreymon roared, flying past and surging towards Apollomon.

Masaru pulled out his Digivice, and held it out on its side. A glow emanated from it, as he ran his hand over it, drawing power from his Digi-Soul. "GeoGrey Sword!"

ShineGreymon landed in front of the two Olympians, just as started Dianamon swinging her weapon at his head. The earth beneath them shook, causing the two's footing to falter, just as ShineGreymon landed on his knees and threw his fist into the ground. He then pulled back, the earth shattering beneath him as he revealed a golden sword that seemed to surge with the power of flame.

"Aniki's right!" ShineGreymon roared, quickly swinging his sword up to block Dianamon's blow. "You're cowards, the both of you!" He gave a mighty shove forward against Dianamon's weapon, making her stumble back, freeing him up to swing the blade at Apollomon.

The fiery Olympian jumped back, bringing his fists up defensively. ShineGreymon snarled before lunging at his enemy, ramming into him with the flat of his sword. "I'll show you the power that Mercurimon respected so much... I'll show you the power of a Daimon's Digi-Soul!!"

Dianamon hissed, spinning her weapon around. "Brother, hold on!"

"No. Your opponent is me, Dianamon!"

Masaru blinked, and looked over to see Gaomon stepping up next to him. "Gaomon, what are you doing?" asked the young man.

"Master would never stand for something like this," Gaomon said. "He would give his all to fight them, just as you're doing now, Masaru!"

"THORN WHIP!"

Masaru's eyes widened, and he looked behind him to see that Lalamon was no longer with Gotsumon and Leormon. Rather, she had become Rosemon, and was battling Ardhamon, Piyomon's evolved form of Garudamon at her side. The Royal Knights were now dealing with Apollomon's soldiers, holding some off, and driving others away from the battlefield.

"I know Master's Digi-Soul still burns just as brightly as it ever did!" Gaomon cried, a blue Digi-Soul flaring up around his body. He pointed at Dianamon, growling. "And your opponent is not just me... it _is my Master's power!"_

A blinding light consumed Gaomon, and Masaru could only shield his eyes, grinning at he knew what was coming.

"Gaomon, evolve!" the Child digimon shouted, and in a matter of moments, his form was replaced by a massive beast knight bursting out of an evolutionary Digi-Egg. The newly evolved Ultimate digimon clashed his claws together, and declared his name. "MIRAGEGAOGAMON!"

Dianamon barely had time to react, as MirageGaogamon surged forward with great speed. His claws clashed against her staff, and she could only growl as his strength fought against hers.

"You- you people!" Dianamon grunted, pulling her staff away and leaping back. "Your insolence-! All at once...! _Where does this power come from!?_"

"Our power is our teamwork, our friendship!" MirageGaogamon shouted. "That's the power of DATS united!"

"DATS...!? What is DATS?!"

MirageGaogamon threw out another swipe, which Dianamon blocked by locking her blade between his claws. He narrowed his eyes at the Olympian, and replied, coldly.

"That's not something I'd expect you to understand..."

-- --

"Magnamon!"

Ravemon never thought he'd be so glad to see the golden Royal Knight. As he reached the edge of the Zanzaga Forest, a long line of escaping digimon following behind him, he finally let out a sigh of relief. As they neared, all of the once captive digimon let out a cheer. Though a number of them were injured, their escape had gone without much incident.

"Ravemon!" Magnamon shouted, running over to the warrior digimon. "I suppose it'd be safe to say things got a bit sticky back there..."

"Yeah," Ravemon said, nodding. "Apollomon and Dianamon appeared."

Magnamon's eyes widened. "Then, we have to get back! Dukemon and the others-!"

Ravemon held up a clawed finger. "-will be fine. I'll see to that. _Your_ job is to protect the hostages, okay?"

The golden-armored Royal Knight looked at him for a moment, before sighing and giving him a nod. "I hate to admit it, but you're right..."

Ravemon looked back at where the distant battle raged. "I need to get going, then. Take care of them!" He didn't wait for a response before he leapt back into the air, flying out across the treetops with as much speed as he could muster

As he flew, worry and inner conflict seized his mind. He did not worry for his friends – he knew he could count on them. Rather, his thoughts were focused on the Olympians.

_Apollomon, Dianamon,..._ he thought to himself. _How could you do this!? Mercurimon was your friend, wasn't he? And if you two have decided to go this far, then Marsmon, Neptunmon, Vulcanmon... Minervamon..._

He was lost in thought, but not so much that he was unaware of his surroundings. Thus, as he caught something out of the corner of his eye, he gave a gasp and stopped dead in the air. _That... couldn't have been... _he thought, surveying his surroundings, trying to catch a glimpse of what he thought he saw.

What he seen, it shouldn't be possible. Not after all this time...

He cast one last furtive glance at the battlefield's direction, and dove towards where he thought he'd seen the phenomenon. He then landed on a sturdy tree branch, and gripped it, surveying the area with his sharp eyes, and saw...!

His eyes widened in shock.

It was Digital Gate. And just as he had caught a glimpse of it, he was sure he had seen humans wearing familiar-looking armor running into it before it closed. He had seen men like them before, during Kurata's first attack on the Digital World, and years later when he waged war on it again.

If _they_ were here, then that meant...

Ravemon let out a cry of frustration, and spread his wings, rocketing back into the air. He pushed himself to his limit, suddenly worried about his friends, as well as Apollomon, Dianamon, and everyone else at the battlefield.

He only hoped that he would make it in time.

-- --

It all happened quite suddenly.

With the battle waging as it was, it was no wonder they didn't notice it.

Apollomon's soldiers had either been disposed of or run off, freeing the Royal Knights to join the battle against Ardhamon and the Olympian. UlForceV-Dramon had joined MirageGaogamon against Dianamon, while Sleipmon fought alongside ShineGreymon versus Apollomon. It was all Ardhamon could do to stay alive against both Rosemon and Dukemon, and only did so because he was quick enough to dodge their attacks. Meanwhile, Garudamon had taken to shielding Gotsumon and Leormon from the stray attacks that flew back and forth across the battlefield.

It was clear that the Olympians were steadily losing the fight. But winning or losing, no one was prepared for the explosions that came out of nowhere, ripping holes in the space around them.

Masaru felt sick to his stomach as he fell, losing all sense of gravity as the ground was ripped open beneath him. ShineGreymon reacted quickly, ignoring Apollomon and flying towards his partner. "ANIKI!"

MirageGaogamon just as quickly disengaged from Dianamon, flying back and snatching Masaru out of the empty space. "I have him! ShineGreymon, the others!"

And soon, they were being sucked in by a powerful force. Garudamon grabbed hold of Leormon and Gotsumon, but was being drawn down into the warp that was swelling beneath them. "No! GARUDAMON!" ShineGreymon screamed, trying to reach him.

He didn't need to, though, as Sleipmon flew past, grabbing Garudamon by his arm. He shot a look in ShineGreymon's direction. "Quickly, grab onto me!"

ShineGreymon did as he was told, flying over and grabbing onto Sleipmon's shield, while MirageGaogamon followed, grabbing a hold of ShineGreymon's tail. A cry of "Thorn Whip!" gave way to Rosemon's yellow vine-whip striking out, wrapping around one of Sleipmon's legs. A quick look to her showed Masaru that she was carrying the PawnChessmon and Kamemon, as well.

Masaru, meanwhile, looked around, seeing the world around them, replaced only by a swirling green and blackness. In the distance, he saw Dukemon and UlForceV-Dramon, just before they disappeared... and there was no sign of Ardhamon, or Apollomon and Dianamon.

"The others!" Masaru shouted against the storm.

His cry went of deaf ears, as they fell deeper into the warp, nothing but darkness around them...

And then, suddenly, they emerged into the light.

-- --

Ravemon cursed himself as he landed in the clearing where the battle had once been taking place. Moments before, everyone had been there, fighting for their lives... and now, there was nothing but empty, desolate earth. Not even the Digi-Eggs of the fallen digimon remained.

Save for one...

Quietly, Ravemon neared the green and gray Digi-Egg that had once been Jureimon. The bird collapsed, and took hold of it with his shaking, clawed fingers. It was as if it had refused to be taken from its home world. From the forest it had called home.

Even in another life, he remained firmly rooted to this ground...

His friends were gone, taken back to the Human World. And humans were responsible... he had seen the massive explosions, and then the formation of the Digital Gate that drew them and the Olympian army into the human world. He remembered something similar, over five years ago, when Kurata had done the same to ElDoradimon.

But he had still been there. Back then, he had raced to the gateway like he'd just been now, but still managed to make it to the portal in time so that they could help with the battles in the Human World. He and Ikuto had been able to fight, and had played a role in stopping Kurata and his resurrected monster...

Without any words, Ravemon's body shrunk, and reverted back into Falcomon. Ikuto never seemed as far away as he did now.

He had failed. He saw this coming, and he'd failed.

And now, he wouldn't be there to help his friends or Ikuto face whatever lay on the other side.

**-To Be Continued**

**-- --**

There were two main objectives to this story; deal with the epilogue of Savers, and the fact that the digimon and Masaru are cut off from the human world, and to introduce a number of conflicts that will play a role in the story as it unfolds, using elements that had been hinted at in Savers but not fully realized. Our next chapter sets a very different stage, and for those of you wondering about absent characters, stay patient - they're coming.

**Infinity Says: Thanks. **

**I think this first chapter's gone through so many versions that it makes my head spin. It originally began in a completely different, but similar manner that was a lot more condensed and rushed plot points along. It didn't satisfy either of us, so we tore it down and I wrote the basic rough draft that Mega then expanded on. THEN, I combed over it again, before HE went over it yet AGAIN.**

**Needless to say, a lot of work, but well worth it, I think. Nice to finally get a lengthy Savers fic out there in the open, WELL beyond the little drabbles I've written in the past. This is the first of many more in-depth Savers fics from the both of us, and I can't wait to do more. (And hopefully read more. C'mon, I know there are more Savers fans out there. WRITE, already!)**

**One of our other objectives, actually, was to get this out by October 1st in a sort of celebration. Of what? Why, Digimon Data Squad's (the English title of Savers) premiere on Toon Disney, of course! Anyone who has the channel, please, watch it and support it as much as you can. I, lacking that channel, sadly can't, but I can still spread my love of Savers as much as possible. **


	2. Homecoming! Light Fang's Counterattack

**Disclaimer: Digimon Savers is the property of Toei Animation, Bandai, and Akiyoshi Hongo.**

**Note: There was a slight – SLIGHT – addition in the second to last scene of the last chapter. Basically, we neglected to mention the PawnChessmon and Kamemon in the scene where the huge Digital Gate opened. That's been fixed. **

**Digimon Savers: Balance of Power  
****Prologue: The Return  
****Part Two - "Homecoming! Light Fang's Counterattack"  
****By Infinity Blade and Megaraptor the Scribe**

The last few minutes of Daimon Masaru's life had been filled with nothing but chaos. First, he was fighting against a powerful enemy. Then, he had found himself and his comrades being tossed through a maelstrom as he was torn out of the world around him.

Finally, after a huge burst of light, he had found himself in reality again.

He also found himself _falling._

Masaru's eyes snapped open, and realization flooded his mind. He realized that what he'd just gone through was a Digital Gate – a portal that linked the Digital and Human Worlds. He had never been through a Gate like _that_, however – going through it had been chaotic and unstable. Then, just before realizing that his _life was in danger_, he became aware that he was no longer being held safely by MirageGaogamon.

Masaru twisted his body, struggling through the force that falling was putting on him. He was then able to look up, and saw that there were a number of bodies falling around him: the digimon! He could tell that they were in their Child forms, despite the fact that many had been evolved several moments before. They had to have been reverted during travel through the Gate...

Masaru, of course, had not realized all of this slowly, or rationally. Rather, he absorbed it all in but a few seconds, amidst his mentally screaming _SHIT SHIT WE'RE GOING TO DIE SHIT!_

Before he could struggle in vain to reach Agumon or any of the others, however, he felt himself being plucked out of the air by a large hand. What proceeded next was much rougher and more chaotic than free falling, as he felt the being holding onto him crash down to the ground quickly and violently, throwing up what looked like branches, dirt, and other sorts of debris as it impacted with the earth below.

Once he was able to clear his mind, Masaru looked up.

"Sleipmon!" he shouted, upon seeing the face of his rescuer. The Royal Knight had managed to stay evolved, and was holding onto him, as well as Agumon and the others. However, before the Ultimate-level digimon could answer him, Sleipmon dropped them to the ground. Then, his body glowed and began to shrink.

Masaru groaned, a throbbing pain surging through his body that he had been ignoring until he unceremoniously collided with the earth below. He opened his eyes in time to look up and see Sleipmon revert back down to his Child stage, Kudamon. Mustering up enough strength to stay conscious himself, he looked about. Agumon, Gaomon, Lalamon... his eyes darted from one prone digimon to the other. Everyone – save for Falcomon, Dukemon, UlForceV-Dramon, and their opponents – was accounted for, and he let out a sigh of relief.

His attempt to stay alert was waning, however. He knew that he couldn't let himself slip into unconsciousness, that there could still be enemies about...

But he hurt all over. It felt like he had been literally torn apart and pieced back together in a matter of seconds. He had never felt _anything_ like that before, and knew that his digimon companions – all devolved from their higher levels – had felt the exact same thing.

He tried to take in his surroundings, though his vision was now blurred. They seemed to be in a forest, and from what he could tell, Sleipmon's "landing" had leveled a good number of trees and torn up a bit of terrain. The sun seemed to be setting, and that glare was also hitting him right in the face, making it difficult to look at the sky.

And thus, difficult to tell _exactly_ where he was. Or to be more precise, what _world_ he was in.

But then, a distant sound told him all that he needed to know.

The noise was coming closer – the repeated _whuppa_ sound of spinning rotors. Masaru turned his gaze skyward, and gasped as he saw a blurry shapes of what seemed to be helicopters closing in, their forms blocking out the sun's glare.

He was back in the Human World.

He was _home_.

-- --

"Agnimon-sama!_ Agnimon-sama!_"

The digimon known as Agnimon stirred, and growled as he tried to push himself to his feet. He spat out a bit of sand. After clenching his hands into fists, he found that he was lying upon a sand covered beach.

"Agnimon-sama... are you alright?"

The demon man digimon turned to the right, and saw one of his subordinates, Shadramon, hovering next to him. The insect digimon looked both concerned for his superior's life, as well as frightened for his own.

"Shadramon," Agnimon groaned, bringing a hand to his forehead. "Where are we?"

"Well, um," replied Shadramon, his voice shaky. "I-I'm not sure, but..."

"This is the Human World, Brother."

Agnimon spun around, and growled when he saw his brother, Vritramon, looming over him. "The human world!?" Agnimon said. "Does the Royal Knights' treachery go so far, that they would attack us in such a manner? Siding with humans, and cutting us off from our own people?!"

"The Knights and their allies seemed caught up in that chaos along _with _usGeneral," said another voice. This one belonged to Asuramon, who emerged from behind Vritramon. "And the way that the gateway appeared... it reminded me of something, from several years ago. I heard tell of how the Holy Capital was sent to the Human World by way of human weapons."

Vritramon glared at his underling. "That doesn't matter, Asuramon!" he snarled. "Either way, we are here because of the humans' evil! And because of them, Apollomon-sama and Dianamon-sama are likely lost to us!"

Agnimon's eyes widened. "Apollomon-sama isn't here? Then where is he!?"

Vritramon looked back at his brother. "When the two of us devolved inside the Gate, I saw them being swept off into the distance," he replied. "Then, they were caught up in a storm of data and energy, and after that, I saw nothing more of them. In all likelihood, they were torn apart by the forces in the gateway... it's truly a wonder any of _us_ survived..."

Agnimon sneered. "No... they are alive," he said. "And they are somewhere in this world! We will find them, even if we have to burn this dirty, human-infested world to the ground! Tell me, Vritramon, who among our army is left?"

Vritramon regarded his brother's words, and shrugged his massive shoulders. "Your optimism is everlasting, Brother," he replied, dully, "but very well, I will follow your desires, as long as I still have a chance to assert my power here. As for our army..."

The demon dragon motioned towards Shadramon, Asuramon, and FlareLizamon, who was limping towards them. "... You're looking at it."

Agnimon balked, and then scowled, hardening his resolve. "Then it shall have to be enough... there is nothing the humans have that could stand against us, anyway..."

Asuramon, FlareLizamon, and Shadramon did not look so sure. Agnimon knew why. They all remembered just how they had likely come to this world: by way of a human device. And they all had heard the tales that Asuramon spoke of about the disappearance of the Holy Capital.

It was FlareLizamon that would speak up next. "But sir, like Asuramon was saying... The Holy Capital... They brought it here, and they had weapons... weapons that could keep us from being reverted back into Digi-Eggs, instead destroying us outright! They could wipe digimon from existence entirely!"

Agnimon shot a glance at the burning reptile that made his subordinate cower. Most of the time, Agnimon was a calm digimon – a sharp contrast from his more brutish brother. He always stood back and took in the situation, to try to apply strategy. But now, the look in his eyes was wholly different, and it clearly frightened his underlings.

He had been humiliated. His master had been lost, and possibly destroyed.

All because of the _humans._

"Those disgusting, filthy humans are nothing compared to us," Agnimon hissed. "Even the lowest of digimon has more potential than any measly human being. Even to cause us the torment they did all those years ago, they had to use the power of a digimon that they twisted into their design! Against Apollomon-sama's greatest warriors, they have no chance!"

"You truly think us humans to be such lowly creatures, don't you, General?"

The five digimon instantly tensed, all reeling in the direction of the voice that had spoken. Standing behind them was a human – a tall, broad shouldered man with tanned skin and dark hair, wearing a long, black jacket. He eyed them sternly, and despite all logic, Agnimon felt a growing sense of unease rising from within him as he locked eyes with the man. He cursed himself for such weakness.

Agnimon clenched his fists, tiny flames flaring out of the vents on his gauntlets, while Vritramon aimed his arm cannons at the newcomer. "_Human!_" Vritramon shouted. "You dare show yourself before soldiers of the Olympus Twelve!?"

_Actually_, Agnimon thought, _where _did_ he come from? Just moments ago, there was no one there... but now..._

The man just continued to look at them, not showing any sign of fear. There was definitely something peculiar about him, to be certain, given that the sight of five digimon didn't seem to have any effect on him.

"My name is Nitta Masaki," the human said, calmly. "And, there is no need to introduce yourselves. General Vritramon, General Agnimon... both members of Apollomon's elite warriors, the Light Fang. And of course, your underlings."

Agnimon narrowed his eyes. "So, you know of us, then. What is that supposed to prove?"

Nitta crossed his arms, still showing no expression. "You have been ripped out of your world. Your forces are decimated. Your leaders are lost."

"Our leaders are not-!" Agnimon began.

"_Your leaders are lost,_" Nitta said, his otherwise calm voice heavy with a sense of unearthly malice that stopped the general cold, leaving the demon man digimon with his mouth hanging open.

"Your own power _was _not,_ is not_ enough," Nitta continued. "You lost, miserably, to Daimon Masaru and his partner digimon. Do you honestly expect to be able to do as you will in this world _now,_ when your adversaries have doubled?"

The digimon were silent. Each one of them was angry, growing more so with each word out of Nitta's mouth, but they remained silent.

"_Think_, for just a moment," the human went on. "Those digimon you faced alongside Daimon Masaru were digimon who had been partnered with humans, and I assure you, they survived travel through the Digital Gate. You are both now in the Human World. It is now only a matter of time before your opponents gather, stronger than ever, and rejoin the humans they once fought alongside... It is only a matter of time before Daimon Masaru's allies are gathered once again."

"Daimon Masaru..." Vritramon said, snarling as he spoke the human's name. "He humiliated us. Because of his interference, we lost that fight long before the Royal Knights themselves even arrived!"

"Human," Agnimon began, and then stopped short, correcting himself. "Nitta Masaki." He wasn't sure why he felt the need to give this being that much respect, but he did so regardless. "How do you know all of this?"

"Is that really your concern?" Nitta asked, his dark eyes taking on a blood red tint. "_My_ concern is to be... a gateway for you in the Human World. If you are to avenge your master, and extend his will here, then you need more power than you already have. I can give it to you, as well as give you the location of your enemy."

"A gateway...?" Vritramon asked. Then, he frowned. "We have already been _through_ a gateway!"

Agnimon shot his brother a look. "He doesn't mean it _literally_, you idiot."

Nitta held up his hand, and made a fist... A fist which then became surrounded by a flare of dark purple energy – unmistakably that of a Digi-Soul. "You are both driven by wrath. Anger, malice. Hatred. Embrace it, and I will give you my power, and with it, what you need to take vengeance on the humans who dare insult you."

For several long moments, the two generals remained silent, staring at Nitta unblinkingly. FlareLizamon, Asuramon, and Shadramon looked at their generals nervously. "M- My lords," Asuramon stammered. "You cannot be serious... the human... the power he's offering you, it's-"

"_Silence!"_ Agnimon snapped, though he did not move his gaze off of Nitta. Then, after a few more moments, the generals looked to each other and nodded, then back to Nitta, an unforgiving scowl worn on both their faces.

"We accept, human," said Vritramon.

Agnimon continued. "Now tell us... where is Daimon Masaru?"

Nitta at last showed emotion, smiling coldly as his Digi-Soul flared up around him like an unforgiving flame.

-- --

Chika had always told people that she saw a good deal of her brother, Masaru, in Noguchi Ikuto. More often than not, that aspect of him caused a good deal of trouble for her.

This was what caused her to sigh as she watched Ikuto throw a punch at one of their school-mates, another boy named Takeshi. Ikuto's fist struck the other boy's face, the impact of the punch knocking the other boy off his feet. He landed on his side, and quickly clutched his face in pain, glaring up at his blue-haired attacker.

"What the hell!?" Takeshi cried, trying to push himself back to his feet. He continued to hold the side of his face. Given the force of Ikuto's punch – and fully knowing his strength – Chika guessed there was a nasty bruise developing there. "What was that for, Noguchi!?"

Ikuto glared at the other boy hatefully, as he jerked his arm to the left. He indicated a gray-colored dog, lying on the ground, with unkempt fur. "Because of him," Ikuto snarled.

Chika had been heading home with Ikuto from some after school activities when they had seen Takeshi and the dog. The boy was unmistakably harassing the animal, attacking it...

"You were hurting him," Ikuto spat, "you lousy-"

"That's enough," cried Chika, choosing now to intervene by putting herself between the two of them. "Takeshi, I think you should leave."

The other boy stared at Chika, gaping at her in response to her words. "Whatever!" he said, finally, turning to begin running down the street. "It's true what they say about you, Noguchi! You are a psychopath! And you too, Daimon!"

Chika sighed, and took Ikuto's hand in hers. "I'm sorry," she said, softly.

Ikuto only pulled away, and approached the dog, who had risen from way it had laid, and was now padding away slowly. Ikuto knelt down beside it, and attempted to pet it... when the canine lashed out, sinking its teeth into one of Ikuto's fingers. The boy did not cry out, and only cringed slightly as the teeth sunk in. The dog then quickly released it and took off running.

"Ikuto-kun!" Chika cried, running to his side. The boy turned to look at her as she knelt down and took his hand. She examined it, and breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, good. There's no blood..."

Ikuto nodded, and then looked in the direction the dog had gone. Chika then helped him to his feet, and clung to his arm as the boy continued to stared in that direction wistfully.

"He has no home," Ikuto said, quietly. "No family. He's been left alone... and he doesn't know how to do anything but fear everyone like the people that hurt him..."

Chika's jaw dropped a little, and she squeezed his arm. "I understand how you feel," she replied, keeping her voice low. "I'm... I'm sorry about Takeshi. He's been like this for a while, unkind towards animals..."

Ikuto scowled. "Then I'm glad I hit him."

Chika gave him a small smile, and began to lead him down the street. "You really are like my brother," she said, shaking her head. "But then, that's part of what I like about you, Ikuto-kun. Now come on, we'd probably better have Mom look at your hand..."

Ikuto blinked, and blushed slightly at her words. "Yeah... do you ever think they're going to come back?" he asked. "Masaru... Falcomon... all of the others, I mean."

Chika squeezed his arm again, this time harder and not as tenderly. "How many times are you going to ask that question, Ikuto-kun?" she asked. "The Digital Gates can't stay closed forever. And besides, this is Masaru-niichan we're talking about! He'd probably consider it improper for a man to never come and see his friends and family again!"

Ikuto blinked again, and smiled at Chika's words. "Yeah, you're right," he said, cheerfully. "Thanks, Chika."

Chika grinned. "You're welcome, you big dork," she replied. Then, she observed that they were nearing the Daimon family's house, which caused her to smile and spur both her and Ikuto forward more quickly.

But as they neared the household, they slowed to a stop, as they saw a familiar-looking police car pulling in front of the home.

"Yoshino-neechan!" Chika cried, pulling away from Ikuto as she saw the red-haired policewoman emerging from the car. Yoshino gave her a smile and a wave as the girl ran up to her, Ikuto close behind.

"Hello Chika, Ikuto," she replied, in a friendly manner but also with a touch of seriousness. "Have you heard about what happened?"

Chika and Ikuto both looked confused. "What happened...?" Ikuto asked, raising a brow.

"A Digital Gate has appeared."

Chika and Ikuto both let out a gasp, and turned to the left, in the direction of the voice that had spoken. Getting out of the passenger side of the car was an old man with gray-hair and a mustache. They noted that he was wearing his usual hat and the same clothes that he wore when they saw him fishing.

"Yushima-san!" Chika gasped. "Wh-what? Really?"

"A Digital Gate!" Ikuto cried, as though he couldn't really believe it. Then, his expression hardened. "Where is it!? Do we know if anything came through!?"

"It's already come and gone, I'm afraid," Yushima said, taking off his glasses and starting to clean them with a small cloth. "I've already talked to your father... it seems that whatever came out of it has already been taken into custody by the Japanese Self-Defense Force..."

"What?" Ikuto said. "And we only know _now_? Where's Satsuma!?"

"We heard about it _from _Captain Satsuma," Yoshino replied, looking somewhat annoyed as she put her hands on her hips. "But since he called us, we haven't been able to reach him at all."

Chika stared, wide-eyed, while Ikuto only frowned. Just then, the door of the Daimon household flew open, and out of it came both Daimon Suguru, Chika's father, and Sayuri, her mother. Suguru waved at them excitedly as he ran towards them.

"Yushima-san!" cried the man. "We're all ready to go!"

Yushima grinned. "Good," he replied, and walked over to Ikuto and Chika, placing his hands on their shoulders. "Are you two ready to go, then?"

Both teenagers stared at him for a moment. "Go? Go where?" Ikuto asked, confused. Then, after a moment, his eyes widened. "Wait... do you think that maybe Falcomon and the others might have-!?"

"There's always a chance," Yushima replied. "And it wouldn't be fair to you and Chika if we didn't let you come along, now would it?"

Ikuto nodded, excitedly, while Chika just looked more confused. "But Yushima-san... where _are_ we going?"

"To find out for ourselves," Suguru replied, answering her himself as he put an arm around his daughter. "Yushima-san says that we should be able to get clearance to investigate just what the JSDF found. And really, Chika, it'd be disappointing to your brother if he made it back and his family wasn't there to welcome him."

Chika's eyes lit up. "And Mom's coming too?" she asked, to which Sayuri and Suguru both nodded.

"When what are we waiting for!?" Ikuto exclaimed, already starting to get into the Daimon family's nearby car. "Let's get going!"

"Now now, Ikuto-kun," said Sayuri. "What would your mother say about you being so impatient?"

At that, everyone began to get in the cars, with Chika following her mother's example in scolding Ikuto while Yoshino observed the whole thing with an amused smile on her face. Chika gave a laugh and turned to her father, only to find him and Yushima looking at each other rather seriously.

"Were you able to talk to the Noguchis?" Yushima asked the younger man.

Suguru nodded. "I did," he replied. "They were able to make a quick scan of the Digital World's border... Kenji said they weren't sure what to make of it, but... the readings indicated massive disruption. Neither of them are sure that there was only one Digital Gate, either."

Yushima nodded. "I see. Anything else?"

"One thing," Suguru replied, frowning. "They said that they've only seen readings anything like this once before – back when Kurata's bomb created the massive rift between worlds."

Yushima's eyes widened, and for a moment, he gaped at Suguru. Then, he narrowed his eyes, and looked to the side, speaking lowly. "Then it's good that we're going to come prepared," he replied.

"Chika?"

The girl jumped a bit as her mother touched her shoulder. She turned to see the woman smiling at her. "Come on, sweetie," Sayuri said. "We need to get going."

Chika nodded a bit, and forced a smile. "Ri-right..."

She followed her mother to their family's car, but her thoughts were far beyond where they currently were. _If something like that happens again..._ she thought, and shivered. _I hope everyone's okay... Masaru-niichan, Agu-chan... Piyomon..._

-- --

Two hours. That's how long it had been since Masaru awoke, alone, in a small, windowless cell. He hadn't been out long, he knew, and in the time since he came to, his pain had dulled considerably.

A long time ago, he would have just busted down the door between himself and the outside world. In fact, he was quite tempted to at this point. Someone had come to check on him, briefly, when he first woke up. Knowing he was in the Human World, he had found the sense somewhere to give some names of people that could verify who he was. And hopefully get him out, as this place was obviously under government control from what he could tell. Though, he knew he was being watched thanks to the security camera that sat in one of the corners of the ceiling. He had passed his time glaring at it intently.

No, just busting out would probably be a bad idea. He had no clue as to where he was. He didn't know where the digimon were, either. Eventually, someone would come, and he could figure out just what the hell was going on. And he could tell _them_ what was going on, as well. Something important had just happened in the Digital World, and there were people in _this_ world that needed to know. Soon.

As for his digimon companions, he had been assured in that short visit that they were safe and sound. Though it could very well have been a lie – and that wouldn't surprise Masaru in the least – he also would know, somewhere deep down through the power that linked them, if Agumon was being hurt. He wasn't, so he hoped it was the same for the others.

Still, it had been awhile since he'd heard from _anyone_ in this place.

Punching through that door was starting to look like a promising concept the longer he sat there, that smug voice of reason in his head be damned. That is, at least, until someone finally _did_ come to see him.

Masaru could tell this person was important. He carried himself with authority, and wore an expression that said he believed he could tell Masaru anything or make him do whatever he wanted. Masaru had seen this expression many times in his life, in both the Human _and _the Digital Worlds. This earned the man the same glare he had been giving the camera, and a look of quiet defiance.

The man wore a uniform, and had dark black-colored hair and a beard. He looked Masaru over for a moment, before speaking.

"Daimon Masaru," he said, his voice deep and full of practiced confidence, "I am Major Nakamono Kentarou."

"Hey," Masaru grunted. "Are you guys finally going to let me talk to someone?"

"You will talk to me," Nakamono replied, glaring back at Masaru. "And on that subject, we did attempt to reach one of the names you gave us. One 'Satsuma Rentarou.' It seems that he was otherwise detained with other matters."

Masaru narrowed his eyes. "Uh huh. You guys have anything to do with that?"

Nakamono paused. "And just what," he said, "do you mean by that?"

Masaru stood up, leveling his gaze at the man. "You think I don't know anything, 'Major'? I don't know how much you know about digimon, or the Digital World, but I'm willing to bet what happened to me today was no accident. I get blown from one world to the next, and suddenly there are military guys all over the place!? And now you tell me Captain Satsuma's busy with something! I've seen what you people do when digimon are involved, and I don't trust you!"

Nakamono seemed undaunted. "You speak of the incident with Professor Kurata, I presume."

"Yeah!" Masaru snapped back. "You clowns trusted him and made everyone in DATS fugitives! Then, not only does your buddy Kurata go about trying to kill off _every digimon alive_, he nearly succeeded and almost destroyed both our worlds in the process!"

Nakamono snorted. "Kurata was... regrettable, but a mistake that has since by rectified-"

"Yeah, by _us._"

"-and not something that changes your position and what's needed here, young man."

"What's _needed,_" Masaru said, "is for you to get out of my way, bring me to my digimon friends, and get me in contact with the people I told you about!"

"We're still in the process of trying to get a hold of Daimon Suguru and Yushima Hiroshi, too," Nakamono said. "But they're not picking up their phones."

"_Bullshit._"

"Daimon Masaru," Nakamono said dangerously. "Are you really that determined to try and undermine everything I say?"

"Thought crossed my mind," Masaru spat, and then grit his teeth. He wasn't getting anywhere like this, and it was all he could do to keep from punching this man in the face and walking out. "...okay, whatever. What the hell do you want?"

Nakamono cocked his head to one side, smiling slightly. It was a smile that Masaru _really_ wanted to wipe from his face. "Good."

It hit Masaru that the man thought he was getting his way. Though not exactly one to do battle on a mental level – in fact, he knew someone who'd find the thought hilarious – Masaru knew it could work to his advantage to let Nakamono think what he wanted to.

"Five years ago, you left our world, correct?" Nakamono asked, and it was answered with a nod. "According to what we were told then, once that Gate was closed, the traffic to and from the Human and Digital Worlds would cease to exist, while the barrier effectively repaired itself. And yet..." He gave a slight sigh, which surprised Masaru, before he expression hardened. "Just how the hell did you get here, boy, and what's caused all of these Digital Gates to open up?"

Masaru frowned, crossing his arms. "Really? I have no freakin' clue." He paused. "...wait, did you say _Gates_!?"

"You're lying," the man said, taking a step forward, which was promptly halted as Masaru held up a finger to his face.

"Not another step, old man!" Masaru said. "Now, what did you say about me tryin' to 'undermine' everything you said!? I told you the truth! I don't. Freakin'. Know. One second, I was fightin', and the next, I was here! That's it. Now, what the hell did you say about other Digital Gates?"

For the first time, Nakamono seemed surprised, and he took a few steps back. "There have been more. Many more."

"So a bunch just opened up all at once!?" Masaru exclaimed, horrible thoughts racing through his head. If multiple gates were opening, then everyone could be in danger while he was here just sitting around! It was bad enough that Apollomon, his soldiers, and Dianamon had to be somewhere in the Human World at this point...

"Several did, today, yes," Nakamono said. "But not just today. They've _been_ opening."

Masaru stopped short from yelling again. "Wh-what...?"

"Over the years since you've left, Digital Gates have appeared periodically throughout Japan and the world over," Nakamono stated. "Though not as widespread and consistent as it was at its peak, it's still been happening. Digimon have still been appearing, causing... havoc in the lives of _normal_ people."

Masaru stared at him. Not with a glare, this time, but out of curiosity. There seemed to be something different about the older man's tone. Something both annoyed and... almost hurting.

"This doesn't have anything to do with me, old man," Masaru said, sternly. "I'm not the cause of this crap, if that's what you're lookin' for. I haven't heard of any Gates opening up on the other end, but if they have, then we're in a lot more trouble than I thought. But, the Digital Gate that opened up today... there's only been _one_ as big as that before Belphemon tore the barrier all to hell. And you and I both know there's only one damned thing that'd cause it."

Nakamono just stared at him, seemingly unable to come up with a reply.

"Dammit, man!" Masaru shouted. "I need to speak with my captain, or-!"

"You're no longer a member of DATS, son," Nakamono said. "You haven't been for five years, and neither has anyone else, so Satsuma Rentarou no longer-"

"_Captain_ Satsuma," Masaru corrected, an edge creeping back into his voice. "He is _my_ captain, and I'll only answer to him or Old Man Yushima. Or my Dad! Hell, I'll even take Touma!!"

Nakamono snorted a small laugh. "I think Touma H. Norstein has greater concerns nowadays, boy."

Masaru's eyes narrowed. "You obviously don't know us all very well, then." He paused, looking over Nakamono's shoulder. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to see anything but the hall. "When can I see Agumon and the others?"

"I assure you, they're just fine."

Masaru shook his head. "Then, I'm not saying anything else until you get me someone _I_ answer to."

"I _told_ you-"

"There's one more," Masaru said, grinning.

Nakamono blinked, seeming legitimately surprised. "Oh? And who would that be?"

Masaru smirked. "Kudamon."

-- --

Agumon hadn't felt pain like that in a great, long while. Finally coming back to the land of the waking, the yellow reptile digimon sat up and took in his surroundings.

He promptly gave a shriek.

All of the digimon – himself, Lalamon, Gaomon, the PawnChessmon, Kamemon, Leormon, Gotsumon, Kudamon, and Piyomon – were in a small room. It was white, with smooth walls, one of which transparent. It was a very _familiar_ room. A rather specialized kind of cell...

The exact same one they had been placed in years ago, when their partners' memories were wiped and they were taken captive by the government.

Agumon looked around frantically. Leormon was scraping at the entrance with his claws, though Agumon knew from experience that'd have no effect. Gaomon was resting up against a wall, and he just sighed and nodded without looking at him. "Yes, I know. Hauntingly familiar. Deja vu. We all had the same reaction."

"Deja who?" Agumon asked. He then shook his head vigorously. "That doesn't matter! This means we're back in the Human World! And.. and... _where's Aniki!?_"

He continued to look around in a rapid manner. The only one not awake was Kudamon, who was being looked over by the PawnChessmon. Leormon continued to scratch at the wall, while Kamemon and Gotsumon sat off near Gaomon. Gotsumon, particularly, looked too afraid to do anything.

"Some human said something over a speaker," Piyomon said. "He said Masaru was fine, but was being questioned."

"It's more credit than Kurata ever gave us, at least," Lalamon noted.

"And they lock us up!?" Agumon shouted, rising to his feet. "We haven't done anything!" If there was one thing Agumon hated, it was having his freedom ripped away, even for an instant. "We've got to do something!"

"Agumon, calm down," Gaomon said. "Don't you remember last time?" His eyes then immediately widened as he realized his folly.

Agumon took a deep breath, his head glowing a bright red. "BABY-!"

"_Idiot!_" Gaomon shouted, dashing over and shoving his fist into Agumon's mouth, before he could launch his attack. Agumon's eyes went wide, and he was forced to swallow his attack. Then, he swatted Gaomon away and gave a yell.

"Just what do you think you're doing!?" Agumon snapped. "We've got to get out of here!"

"We can't go causing trouble when we don't know the whole situation!" Gaomon shot back.

Agumon's face contorted into a scowl, and was about ready to go at it, when Kamemon – surprising the both of them – stepped between them and held up his hands.

"Fighting amongst ourselves won't accomplish anything," Kamemon said. "What would your partners say if they saw you?"

"Um, Kamemon, that's sort of a bad example," Lalamon said.

Kamemon tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Oh. Right. Sorry, I'm not very good at this..."

"No, you're fine," a strained voice said, and everyone looked to Kudamon as he began to sit up, albeit weakly. He smiled. "What would Yushima say if he heard you saying that?"

Kamemon just nodded silently.

"Now," Kudamon said, glancing about. He seemed to quickly realize their situation. "...dammit. Anyone want to bring me up to speed?"

"Well, we're obviously in the Human World," Gaomon said. "I woke up first, and we were all in here. Masaru's elsewhere. But we all made it through alive, at least."

"And Ravemon was away when the Gate appeared," Kudamon said, and then sighed. "So, basically the situation is, beyond that, we don't know the situation. Obviously, Satsuma and Yushima can't be in charge if we're being held inside DATS Headquarters... but, we don't have any reason to suspect anything foul is going on."

"_Other_ than locking us up?" Agumon snorted.

"Other than that, no," Kudamon said. "After last time, if they wanted to be rid of us, we'd all be Digi-Eggs by now."

Piyomon visibly shivered. "So, what can we do then?"

Kudamon sat back, still obviously in pain. "At the moment, nothing. They wouldn't have told us that Masaru's okay, otherwise. That Digital Gate had to be created with a Time-Space Oscillation Bomb, or something similar. Providing our captors aren't the _cause_, they very likely are having a great deal of trouble figuring out what's going on."

"So, we just sit here!?" Agumon snapped.

Kudamon closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes. Until we ourselves figure out what's going on, jumping to conclusions would be unwise. They could just be acting cautious..." He opened his eyes, smiling. "Otherwise, they had better not leave us here for too long, lest Masaru break down the door of wherever he is, or we have enough time to recover and tap into our partners' Digi-Souls."

Agumon stared at him for a second, and then gave a chuckle. "Knowing Aniki, I guess we'll find out which one it is pretty quick."

-- --

"I beg your pardon, but do you know who I am?"

Touma H. Norstein was not one who really liked to flaunt his success or celebrity. He did what he did, and had made the advancement in medical science that he had, to save the life of a loved one, and to make the world a better place. Nothing more, nothing less.

However, as he stood at the entrance of DATS Headquarters – a place where he once had a level of clearance rivaled only by his superiors – he was finding himself quickly running out of options. Namely, because the security guard standing between him and the entrance absolutely refused to let him pass.

"Yes, Dr. Norstein, I do," the guard said, and then handed him back an ID card that Touma had given him. "But according to our files, you were dismissed from DATS years ago. That card isn't valid any longer."

Touma pushed his glasses up on his nose, scowling at the man. "I was asked to come here by Commander Yushima himself, and if you know who I am, then you know there's few people who know more about Digital Gates short of Professor Nogu-"

"I'm not going to tell you again," the guard cut him off. "You have no authorized clearance to enter this building. Please, do yourself a favor, because I would rather not be forced to take you into custody."

Touma didn't say anything. He turned swiftly on his heel and started to walk back to the limousine he had arrived in. His younger sister Relena stood outside the car, while his butler was still in the driver's seat.

"Brother, I don't understand," Relena said once he reached her. "Why won't they let you in? After everything you've done...?"

Touma gave a wistful sigh, staring down at his old ID card. "Officially, we were discharged from DATS and made fugitives from the law when Kurata turned everyone against us. Captain Satsuma and Commander Yushima were only reinstated following Yggdrasil's defeat, but DATS was _officially_ disbanded directly following that. Thus, I'm still on file as being discharged, even though our names were cleared." He shoved the card back in his pocket and looked back at the building. "Truthfully, I'm now thinking the Confidentiality Ministry did that on purpose. Even if we were proven innocent, they still probably didn't want to risk the potential liability..."

He smiled bitterly. "Especially me, since, even though I had Yoshino and the others to back me up, so far as the government knew at the time, I was an active participant in _helping_ Kurata."

Relena frowned, reaching out to touch his arm. "Brother..."

Touma just turned to look back at the building. He was, to put it mildly, very tired, having just flown in from giving a lecture in America with Relena. No sooner had he stepped off the plane did he receive a call from Yushima, alerting him to the appearance of the massive Digital Gate. He knew that it meant trouble. He _knew, _from only the older man's description, what kind of Gate it was.

But what's more, he knew – deep in his heart – what it could also mean.

Pulling his hand out of his pocket, he now held his Digivice Burst in it. He stared down at it, and instantly knew that his sister caught the look in his eye.

"Is he in there, Brother?"

Touma's eyes looked back to the DATS building. "...yes. I'm certain of it."

"Then, what are we supposed to do?"

The blond man sighed heavily. "The only thing we can do, now, is wait for Commander Yushima to get here. He should still have the proper clearance... I'd hope, anyhow."

If that wasn't the case, of course, Touma didn't really want to consider the alternative. Regardless, though, Touma was certain of one thing: If Gaomon had returned, there wasn't a soul alive that would stop the young man from getting to him.

Touma's train of thought was broken as Relena gave a happy shout, tugging at his arm. "Brother, look!"

He did as he was asked, looking back at the road leading to where they were. Coming up were two cars, one of which a police vehicle driven by one very familiar-looking young woman. When Touma saw her, and the other occupants of the vehicles, he smiled.

With all of them, there was no way they were going to be completely shut out for much longer...

-- --

"Do you even recognize where you are?" Nakamono asked Masaru as the older man led him through corridors away from where he had been held.

Masaru eyed the walls for just a moment before it finally hit him. "This is DATS!"

Suddenly, Masaru's aggravation with Nakamono returned with force. Not only had he been held against his will, _despite_ having saved them from both Kurata and the two worlds collapsing on top of themselves, but it was done so in the place that had once been his and his comrades' base of operations!

"We repaired this place after it was nearly destroyed because it could still prove of some use," Nakamono stated. "And, after the barrier nearly collapsed, it still had the most advanced monitoring equipment for detecting Digital Gates."

Masaru grunted, crossing his arms as they turned a corner and then met with a door. It slid open to allow them into what Masaru recognized as DATS' main command room. Only now, it lacked any of the familiar faces. No Satsuma, Miki, Megumi, or any of their digimon partners... Just, to him, anyway, a bunch of nameless technicians who probably didn't even fully comprehend the gravity of the situation occurring around them.

"What the hell are we doing here?" Masaru asked. "I said I wanted to see the digimon!"

Nakamono sighed, looking back at him. "My duties aren't just to be your escort here, kid. There's a lot of important things happening-"

"That's sort of the point!" Masaru shouted. "Just tell me where they are, then!"

Nakamono turned back, staring up at a monitor that had a bunch of gibberish Masaru didn't even want to _try_ and comprehend. "Not a chance."

"Why you-!" Masaru began, but came to an abrupt stop when he felt the entire building shake around him. Though he stood firmly in place, Nakamono nearly fell over, and several of the technicians _did._

Lights and monitors flickered on and off, and Nakamono bellowed, "Just what the _hell_ was that!?"

After several moments of fumbling with the displays – a problem, Masaru noted, that neither Miki nor Megumi would ever have – a technician brought up an image on one of the displays. It was of the road leading up to DATS' main entrance, and walking down it were...

"Apollomon's goons!" Masaru blurted out. Indeed, Agnimon, Vritramon, Shadramon, FlareLizamon, and Asuramon were marching down towards the building. Vritramon's cannons were smoking from their barrels, instantly answering where the shaking had come from.

"Apollomon...?" Nakamono asked slowly, turning to Masaru. He then lashed out, grabbing Masaru roughly by his jacket. "You know something about this! You led them to us!"

Masaru was undaunted by his outburst. He slapped the older man's hands away roughly, and then grabbed _him_ by _his_ jacket. "I don't give a _crap_ what you think about me, but if you don't want your asses blown away, you had damn well better cut the shit and tell me where Agumon and the others are!"

-- --

Touma and the others had no idea it was coming when it happened: streams of fire and energy flew over their heads, striking the side of DATS' headquarters. Eyes wide with shock, they all turned their gaze in the direction the attacks had come from, and saw the five digimon marching towards them.

"Digimon!?" Yoshino exclaimed, her voice cracking. "Of all the rotten luck... this is the worst!"

Touma instinctively pushed Relena behind him, while Suguru did the same for Sayuri – the older man would have likely done the same for Chika had Ikuto not done it himself. "Professor Daimon," Touma said, "Those digimon, I'm familiar with three of those five species – Asuramon, FlareLizamon, and Shadramon – but the two in the lead..."

"They're Agnimon and Vritramon..." Ikuto answered, interrupting Suguru before he could even speak. The boy's voice was hushed, and what was more, his expression was a mixture of anger and fear, and his tanned skin seemed deathly pale

"Ikuto-kun...?" Chika asked, looking concerned. He didn't answer her, and instead squeezed Chika's arm once, before stepping out in front of everyone else, his expression quickly going from what it was to one of great anger.

"AGNIMON! VRITRAMON!" the teen aged boy yelled sharply. The five digimon across stopped in their tracks, each one of them focusing on him as he continued to yell. "Just what do you think that you're doing!?"

Agnimon thrust a fist into the air, flames billowing out around his fist as he screamed back at the boy. "You dare stand in the way of the glorious Light Fang warriors, human!?"

Ikuto pointed a finger at them. "The Light Fang are supposed to be the most noble and elite warriors of the Olympus Twelve! _You_ dare to disgrace their name by cowardly attacking humans!?"

"And just who are _you_ to question _us!?_" Vritramon snarled, stamping a foot and cracking the pavement beneath him. "On whose behalf do you speak on, human!?"

Ikuto growled, and placed his hand against his chest, raising his voice and saying, "I am Noguchi Ikuto, a proud Digimon Soldier, and I speak on the behalf of Mercurimon! Surely, his comrade Apollomon can't justify actions like this!"

"Ikuto," Touma said, coming up behind Ikuto and speaking in a low voice. "These guys..."

"Are the soldiers of one of the Olympus Twelve, Apollomon," Ikuto said back. "But some thing's wrong with them. The look in their eyes... it's all wrong..."

"Ikuto?" Agnimon asked, and then lowered his fist. The flames died out and he smiled, albeit somewhat cruelly. "Ah, Ikuto. I see you've changed in the years since we last saw you... Mercurimon-sama really _did_ think highly of you. Minervamon-sama, too. It's such a shame, really..."

Vritramon smirked, baring his teeth devilishly. "Yes, it is. It is a shame that you had to be a filthy, treacherous human! Gotsumon was always right about you." He gave a bitter laugh, and then aimed his left cannon at the boy. "After all, if not for you and your kind, Mercurimon would still be alive..."

Ikuto growled, gritting his teeth. "You... you don't even know what you're talking about! Mercurimon died-!

"To protect you!" Agnimon shot back, flames flaring up around him yet again. "You and your human 'friends!' He died, just as your precious 'mother,' Yukidarumon, did! _To protect you! _No matter what your intentions, all you humans can bring to the Digital World is ruin!"

Ikuto suddenly gave a wild cry of anger, and ran forward, charging the group of digimon. FlareLizamon got in his way, and swiped a flaming claw at the boy. Ikuto took a massive leap, flipping over both the attack, and the digimon himself. By the time FlareLizamon knew he had missed, Ikuto had already hit the ground running behind him.

"Yushima-san," Suguru said, quickly turning to the older man. "Take Sayuri, Chika, and Relena-chan and get them out of harm's way."

"Gunter," Touma said, addressing his butler, who was standing behind them, near the limo. "The same to you. Get them inside DATS."

"But Dad-!" Chika began, staring fearfully at Ikuto, lingering as Yushima and Gunter began to lead her mother and Relena towards the building.

"Go!" Suguru snapped quickly, before smiling, holding up his fist. "Don't worry about Ikuto-kun. I think we have that covered."

She looked at him for a moment, unsure of what to do, and then nodded, running back to join Yushima's group.

"Burning Salamander!" Agnimon roared, as Ikuto made it past both Shadramon and Asuramon, slamming both his fists together and making flames flare up around his fists. He then delivered a series of punches to the air, launching a volley of fireballs at the boy.

Ikuto growled, clenching his hands into fists, around both of which erupted the purple flare of his Digi-Soul. Agnimon's eyes, as well as those of all his allies, widened in shock as Ikuto swatted each one of the fireballs away, deflecting them harmlessly to the side.

"Don't underestimate..." Ikuto said, charging again and leaping into the air. He flew at Agnimon, thrusting out an energized fist and taking the demon man by a surprise as it impacted with his face. "... the strength of a _real_ Digimon Soldier!" Agnimon screamed as he was knocked back, falling on his back with a loud crash.

Vritramon roared wildly, and Ikuto had no time to defend himself before the demon dragon's clawed hand struck hum. The boy's face struck the pavement, and Vritramon laughed cruelly, preparing to crush the teenager beneath his foot... only for Suguru's blazing fist to strike him in the face, knocking him to the ground just like his brother.

Suguru landed in front of Ikuto, his hand burning with the familiar orange glow of his family's Digi-Soul. "Just for the record, Ikuto-kun," he said, looking back at him. "Any man who can do something like what you did is someone I'd definitely consider worthy of my daughter!"

Ikuto grinned a bit, despite the obvious pain of Vritramon's blow, and sat up, wiping away the blood that was trickling from his lip.

"Oh, geez," Yoshino said, walking up behind Ikuto with Touma, grinning despite herself. "Leave it to a Daimon to say something like that."

"Indeed," replied Touma, helping Ikuto to his feet. "It's good to remember... because we have to hold these guys off as long as we can... at least, that is, until Relena and the others are safe. Because-"

"That's what Masaru would do, right?" Yoshino asked, grinning wider.

Touma laughed nervously, adjusting his glasses. "I'd appreciate you not repeating that, though."

"You... filthy... HUMANS!" Vritramon roared, shoving FlareLizamon and Shadramon off of him as they tried help him to his feet. He rose on his own, while Agnimon also stood up, standing beside his brother.

"You think that you can stop _us_ with the weak power you hold!?" Agnimon hissed. He reached out for Vritramon with one hand.

The demon dragon took hold of it with his claw. "Then you'll see...!" Vritramon roared.

"The true power of our wrath!" both screamed in unison. Both digimon let out mighty screams as their eyes took on a red glow, black energy erupting around their bodies like demonic flames.

Suguru's eyes narrowed. "Is that... a Digi-Soul?" he wondered, out loud, just as realization hit him. Then, he spun around, and yelled at Yoshino, Ikuto, and Touma, "GET BACK! All of you, fall back now!"

"But Professor Daimon-" Touma started.

"_NOW!"_

The energy continued to flare up around Agnimon and Vritramon. Asuramon, FlareLizamon, and Shadramon all backed away, their eyes wide with astonishment. "So this... this is the power that man gave them," Asuramon gasped, all three of his faces staring on in amazement.

"If they can evolve further..." FlareLizamon breathed, "then imagine what it means for us!"

"HYPER JOGRESS EVOLUTION!" both Agnimon and Vritramon cried, as the black energy surged around them. Then, their bodies melded together, and began to grow more massive. They grew, and grew, and grew larger still, until they assumed the form of a massive draconic knight, clad in gold, blue, and orange armor. Then, flames pooled together in front of the newly evolved digimon, flaring up brightly as they assumed the form of a massive blade. Taking it in his hand, the fused warrior proclaimed his name.

"_KAISERGREYMON!_"

When Suguru, Ikuto, Touma, and Yoshino reached where the cars were parked, Yoshino stopped dead and spun around. "Kaiser_What_mon!?"

However, when she turned to face the digimon, she found him pointing his sword directly at them, grasping it with both hands as he opened up into a crossbow-like weapon. "Enryuugeki – _FLAME DRAGON ATTACK_!" he cried, the sword's central blade glowing brightly just before shooting itself off like a massive, flaming arrow.

"Yoshino!" Suguru shouted, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her away just before the flying blade struck Touma's limo, causing it to erupt into a ball of fire and debris. The force of the explosion knocked the four humans to the ground. Suguru was the first back on his feet, but he was too late – KaiserGreymon held out the hilt of his weapon, a new blade forming. Then, he rose into the air, streaking right towards...

"Relena!" Touma shouted.

Suguru's eyes were wide with horror. "Sayuri!"

"Chika!" both he and Ikuto screamed.

There was nowhere near enough time. KaiserGreymon surged forward, the speed of his flight sending several cars flying as he passed over them. Sayuri, Relena, Chika, Yushima, and Gunter all turned, eyes widening in fear as the dragon knight bore down on them.

"_NOT SO FAST!_"

KaiserGreymon came to a sudden stop, as the sound of an impact and a Digi-Soul's flare filled the air. All looked up, and gasped as they saw the sight before them: it was none other than Daimon Masaru, his Digi-Soul flaring all over his body as he pressed his fist against KaiserGreymon's helmet.

"You... bastard..." KaiserGreymon growled. "Even after evolving... your power... how can it still harm us!?"

"You didn't think I'd let you hurt my family and friends, did you, asshole?" Masaru asked, grinning. Then, he brought up his leg, kicking off of KaiserGreymon's helmet. He then did a flip in mid-air, landing in front of his mother, sister, Relena, Gunter, and Yushima.

"Ma... Masaru..." Sayuri stammered slowly.

"Masaru-niichan!" Chika cried happily.

Yushima grinned from ear to ear. "So, you have returned, eh?"

KaiserGreymon seemed to be in momentary shock, but then gave a yell, flying back several feet. "Asuramon, Shadramon, FlareLizamon!"

The three digimon leapt into action quickly, giving shouts of acknowledgment to their leader, each one of them dashing towards the gathered humans. But then, before they could get very far, several voices cried out...!

"Baby Burner!"

"Nuts Shoot!"

"Magical Fire!"

"Pointer Arrow!"

"Angry Rock!"

Two streams of fire, a barrage of seeds, a volley of rocks, and an arrow-shaped missile each rained down, stopping both Asuramon and Shadramon in their tracks. FlareLizamon, having been at the rear of the group, looked on in surprise. However, he quickly turned his gaze elsewhere, and charged at the first humans he saw, Touma and Suguru.

"Gao Rush!"

"Leo Claw!"

Blue and yellow blurs streaked towards the fiery dragon. With a barrage of punches and a rapid swiping of claws, FlareLizamon was knocked to the ground. Then, two digimon landed in front of both men, glaring menacingly at the attacker.

"Anyone who dares to try and harm my Master will not be forgiven!" Gaomon shouted.

"And I'm not going to just sit by while others fight!" Leormon growled. "Especially not when Masaru's friends' lives are on the line!"

"Gaomon!" Touma cried, ecstatically, as he ran to his digimon's side. Suguru, meanwhile, looked at Leormon with a mixture of confusion and surprise, which then slowly became a fond, reminiscent grin.

The moment was cut short, as Agumon, Lalamon, Kamemon, Piyomon, the two PawnChessmon, and Gotsumon all leapt down (the latter falling gracelessly on his head) alongside Masaru. "Aniki!" Agumon shouted, taking his place in front of Masaru. "It's time to show this guy what a real Greymon's power is like!"

"Yoshino!" Lalamon called to her partner. "I know it's rude not to say hello after so long, but we need to take of these guys first!"

Gaomon assumed a defensive stance. "Master! Allow me to join the battle alongside Agumon as well!"

Yoshino and Touma both exchanged glances, and then grinned. They each reached into their pockets, withdrawing their Digivice Bursts. "Then we will," Yoshino answered. "I'll fight together with you once again, Lalamon!"

"Gaomon!" cried Touma. "I don't have a plan for you, but I can give you this!" His and Yoshino's Digi-Souls both flared up, prompting Masaru to take out his Digivice as well. Then, together, all three focused their power, channeling it into the devices with a cry of...

"**DIGI-SOUL CHARGE! _OVERDRIVE_!**"

**-To Be Continued**

**--**

**Infinity Says: A couple random notes, this time.**

**First, thanks to our reviewers! Always good to have thoughtful reviews, and that's about what we got. Y'know what they say – quality over quantity. To Fullmetal Ai, regarding the chapter length, though, I figured one of us should reply to it. (Though thanks all the same for what you said. Again, it's appreciated.)**

**The length of the chapters in "The Return" is intentional. Since this is basically a prologue for the larger "Balance of Power" series as a whole, it only has a few chapters. At the moment, it'll likely run four or so chapters. Though we probably COULD break down the parts smaller than they are, I don't think it would have hurt the flow of the first chapter to do so, just personally. The main series, once this prologue is finished, WILL be smaller and it'll likely take on a more serialized feel, akin to my own series, "Inner Demons." Only, hopefully, with a more consistent update schedule. **

"**The Return" basically stands as one long series of battles and plot developments that set the stage for later. The longer chapters for it, I think, work to help re-establish everything so we don't have to set everything up in the main series and can just get right into the story. **

**For what it's worth, though, that "To Be Continued" marker right above me? Yeah. It's roughly just over _halfway_ through what we originally planned for Part 2 of this story. It got so long, we finally had to say, "Yeah, uh. This DOES need to be broken down." And thus, it was. Which – also – means as of this posting, Part 3 has already had a good amount of work put into it. **

**To the chapter itself, the "Light Fang," for those who don't know, are the group of Tamers you work with in the video game Digimon World: Dawn (aka, Digimon Story: Sunburst in Japan.) That game is where Apollomon – and his entire evolution line – made its debut. Using it for the name of his warriors is a homage to that.**

**Similarly, Nitta Masaki is a character from the game Digimon World: Data Squad (aka, Digimon Savers: Another Mission.) The game takes place completely out of continuity from the Savers anime... but that doesn't mean we can't use him for our own purposes here, since he IS still a Savers character. Those that have played the game will notice some differences in him... but going further than that would spoil things. And we don't want that, do we?**

**(Oh, and Touma's butler was never named in canon. The name we're using was created by Mega.)**

**Mega Says: ... Damn it, Infinity got all of the good stuff out of the way.**

**Anyway, a few things should be mentioned here. You might notice our depiction of KaiserGreymon's color-scheme is somewhat... off. It's based on his alternate colors from the video game _Digimon: Battle Spirit 2_. We thought it'd be more appropriate, since this is essentially a "dark" or "evil" version of KaiserGreymon, akin to BlackWarGreymon or ChaosDukemon.**

**Also, for the record, we don't hate Frontier, and the use of Hybrids as villains is not meant to rag on the series. We just... think they're kind of awesome and fit the "fire theme" for Apollomon's army.**

**That's all I got to say. See ya in part 3, everyone!**


	3. Unite Again! KaiserGreymon's Inferno

**Disclaimer: Digimon Savers is the property of Toei Animation, Bandai, and Akiyoshi Hongo.**

**Digimon Savers: Balance of Power  
****Prologue: The Return  
****Part Three - "Unite Once Again! KaiserGreymon's Inferno!"  
****By Infinity Blade and Megaraptor the Scribe**

Power erupted from Masaru, Yoshino, and Touma's Digivices, spiraling into each of their partners and engulfing them in the power of their Digi-Souls.

"Lalamon, evolve! _Rosemon!_"

"Gaomon, evolve! _MirageGaogamon!_"

"Agumon, evolve! _SHINEGREYMON!_"

There wasn't a moments hesitation for the three digimon. As soon as the evolutionary process had ended, they charged straight at KaiserGreymon. They all collided with him before he even had time to brace himself, using their combined strength to knock him away from everyone gathered and towards the nearby docks.

Ikuto let out a cheer as he watched the battle... only to realize, finally, that someone was missing. His eyes began to dart in multiple directions, looking for one digimon in particular... and saw no sign of him. The boy slumped a bit, and cursed quietly to himself.

Masaru turned away from his partner and the battle with KaiserGreymon. "PawnChessmon, Piyomon, Gotsumon," Masaru said. "I want you to take Mom, Chika, and everyone else to the service tunnel. There's an old guy called Nakamono Kentarou, and he'll make sure the army gets you out of here." The digimon all nodded, save for Gotsumon, who then had to be be helped out of the head-shaped pothole he was now stuck in by Kamemon.

"No!" Chika shouted. "Masaru-niichan, I want to stay here with you!"

"Chika," said Suguru's voice, as the man approached them. "It's not safe for you here; I can at least fight a bit, and either Yushima-san or myself have to be here for Satsuma-san's sake. Don't worry, your brother and I will be fine."

"I'll go with them," said Yushima, stepping forward. "I mean, as long as you're here to handle things, Suguru. And besides, I can't really let Kamemon go off on his own again, now can I?"

"I'll go too," said Ikuto, stepping in front of Chika. Chika saw the sad and angry look on the boy's face, and frowned.

"Fine, I'll go..." she said, quietly. And with that, she turned to leave with the others, when Suguru grabbed her wrist, shoving something into her hands. Chika's eyes widened. "Dad, this is...!" she gasped.

Suguru smiled. "I know. Use it when the time is right."

Chika nodded, and tucked the object into her jacket pocket.

"Relena," said Touma. "You and Gunter go with them. Yushima-san will keep you safe."

Relena nodded, timidly. "Stay safe, Master Touma," said Gunter, putting his hands on Relena's shoulders. With that, Yushima gestured for them to go on, and the two of them moved to follow the old man towards the building.

Suguru then turned to face the remaining digimon that had been attacking them... only to find them gone. A quick look to the sky showed him that Asuramon was flying to the battle between KaiserGreymon and the three Ultimate digimon, as Masaru, Touma, and Yoshino raced to the docks themselves. However, Shadramon and FlareLizamon were completely unaccounted for.

"Damn," the man sad, frowning to himself, "I'm getting rusty." He then noticed the only digimon who still remained where he was: Leormon, who was staring at the distant battle with an expression of awe. Suguru smirked, and then took off running in the direction of his son and the others.

_Okay, Masaru,_ Suguru thought. _Time to see how much of a man the last five years have made you!_

-- --

"Double Crescent Mirage!"

KaiserGreymon let out a scream as he tumbled back into the sea, knocked over from the force of MirageGaogamon's attack. He growled, and rose, standing in the shallow water. Though he loomed over the three Ultimate digimon, including ShineGreymon, their combined power was proving to be enough to overwhelm him.

"General... uhm, KaiserGreymon!" came Asuramon's voice, as his subordinate flew up alongside him.

"Asuramon," KaiserGreymon growled in annoyance, while he swung his sword to block a swipe from Rosemon's whip. "Where are FlareLizamon and Shadramon!?"

"SHINE HAMMER!"

Both KaiserGreymon and Asuramon looked up to see ShineGreymon falling down towards them, one fist held high and glowing brightly. Both warriors of Apollomon dodged in either direction, letting ShineGreymon fall between them, his glowing fist slamming into the water. The ground shook, and the two Greymons' eyes met, both glaring at each other intensely.

KaiserGreymon wasted no time, and swung his sword down at ShineGreymon, who quickly rolled away. While KaiserGreymon's sword harmlessly struck the ground, ShineGreymon jetted back into the air, rejoining his comrades.

All three faces gasping, Asuramon rejoined his general. "FlareLizamon and Shadramon... They saw an opportunity," he replied. "They thought it would help if they found a way to keep the humans from fighting, and-"

"I DO NOT NEED THEIR TRICKERY!" KaiserGreymon roared, bringing up his sword to block the slash of MirageGaogamon's claws. "And I do not need you here to tell me of their uselessness! Now, do something useful _yourself_, or I will cut you down here and now!"

Asuramon's three heads stared, and then gave a short nod before he flew off. KaiserGreymon grunted, and jerked his arm back, freeing his sword from the lock with MirageGaogamon's claws and throwing his opponent back towards the docks.

"I will be humiliated no longer!" KaiserGreymon shouted. He then grasped the hilt of his sword in both hands, and thrust it into the water. It pierced the sea floor, and KaiserGreymon became surrounded in an intense flame, causing steam to erupt from the water around him.

"_Kuzuryuujinn_ – _**NINE HEADED DRAGON FORMATION!**_"

All three fighters stared on in confusion, until moments later, when the earth began to quake. The earth shook and then split, erupting with fire all around them. Then, before they could react, nine massive pillars of flame shaped like dragons erupted out of the blaze, surging towards them from multiple directions. Each Ultimate digimon let out a cry as they were hit, the fire dragons coiling around them and burning them with intense heat. Then, the flames subsided and they all fell from the air, landing in the water.

KaiserGreymon couldn't help but laugh as his enemies slowly rose to their feet. "The tide of this battle is now turning," he said, cruelly, pointing his sword at them.

"That... that's what you think!" ShineGreymon roared, though pain was evident in his voice. He looked towards the docks, where Daimon Masaru and the other humans stood. ShineGreymon then jerked his head back around to glare at KaiserGreymon "This fight is only just beginning!"

-- --

As the battle waged on the docks near DATS, Chika, Sayuri, Ikuto, and the others had made it to the service tunnel beneath DATS, which lead to a water-side road leading away from the battle. Yushima was currently discussing things with the major whom Masaru had told them about, Nakamono Kentarou, as they prepared to get underway. All around them, soldiers and technicians were scrambling as they loaded up equipment on several trucks set to head out.

"Damn it, Nakamono, I need to get in contact with Satsuma!" Yushima declared. "He needs to know what's gone on here!"

"And like _I_ told _you_, Yushima-san, he already knows," replied Nakamono, looking as though he'd rather be talking with anybody else. "In fact, I'd be surprised if the whole city doesn't know what's going on, at this point!"

"And that was unavoidable!" Yushima said. "But you knew something like this was bound to happen eventually!"

"_I_ knew!? I only know what my superiors tell me, and they have more justification to keep secrets than you people do!" shouted Nakamono, breaking his resolve and poking Yushima forcefully on the chest. Yushima glared at him, as Nakamono became aware that people were watching their argument, causing him to frown and turn to his men.

"We have to be out of here in less then three minutes!" the major declared. "Get these people and their monsters into the armored truck!"

There wasn't another moment's pause before his men gave their acknowledgments and set to work. Yushima sighed in frustration as he joined the others, who were being led toward the vehicle Nakamono had identified. Sayuri frowned, putting a hand on the older man's arm. "Yushima-san?"

Yushima looked at her, breathing out a small sight. "The Major and DATS have some history," he replied. "But let's leave it at that, for now."

As Sayuri nodded, her daughter clung tightly to Piyomon's wing while Ikuto looked on with an unpleasant, but at the same time, hard to read expression on his face. To the side, Relena walked alone, staring at the ground as she moved towards the truck.

"Brother," she murmured, quietly. "I hope... I hope he'll be alright..."

"Don't worry! He'll be just fine! He's with Masaru-sama!"

Relena's eyes widened slightly, and turned her head to the side. Walking alongside her was Gotsumon, giving her an odd-looking rocky grin. "I've been with Masaru-sama and Agumon-sama for a long time now, and they'd never, ever let something bad happen to a comrade!"

Relena's mouth fell open for a moment, and then she smiled. "Thank you very much, uhm...?"

"Ah! Uhm! I'm Gotsumon!" the mineral digimon replied, smiling sheepishly.

Moments later, the humans and digimon began climbing into the back of the armored truck. But then, Kamemon, who stood at the rear of the group, paused, looking at the end of the service tunnel. Noticing,Yushima walked back towards him. "Kamemon?"

The turtle digimon didn't answer. Instead, he just took several steps forward, and...

"Pointer Arrow!"

Yushima let out a cry of surprise as his partner's attack flew forward. Several soldiers did so as well, ducking to the side as the arrow-shaped missile streamed past them, until it finally hit... something that didn't appear to even be there.

"Gah! Guh! What the hell, you bastards!?" cried a voice, as a form began to take shape at the point where Kamemon's missile had impacted. The air seemed to distort, until it finally revealed the orange, red, and black form of the digimon called Shadramon. Almost instantly, the soldiers took aim at him with their weapons.

"My shadow cloak didn't work!?" hissed the insect digimon. "Well, I'll show you! Psychic Wave!" With the cry of his attack, he then thrust out both arms, and sent out a mental wave that caused everyone to grab their heads in pain and sent several of the humans flying.

Yushima grit his teeth, holding his head as he leaned against the armored truck, trying not to fall over. Then, just as soon as it started, his pain stopped. Blinking, the old man looked around them and saw they were now surrounded in a white dome of energy. Standing at either side of the truck was PawnChessmon Black and White, shields held out as they generated the protective barrier.

Smiling, Yushima started to reach for his Digivice. "Kamemon," he said. "It's time to-"

"HEEEYAAAAAAAAAH!"

Yushima's eyes widened, as he was interrupted by Ikuto's cry, who ran forward the moment the PawnChessmons' shield dropped. Anger burned in his eyes as he charged towards Shadramon, leaping up to swing his fist at the insect digimon's face...

... only to be grabbed out of the air by a fiery claw, as FlareLizamon's arm burst through the concrete floor beneath them. Ikuto let out a scream as the flaming dragon squeezed him, causing FlareLizamon to laugh cruelly as he climbed out of the sizable hole he had made.

"So, this is the so-called Digimon Soldier!" hissed FlareLizamon. "You humiliated our general earlier! Let's see how KaiserGreymon-sama intends to reward that, eh?"

"PUT HIM DOWN!"

The cry came not from Yushima, or any of the soldiers, but rather Chika, who stood glaring at the two digimon defiantly. Shadramon and FlareLizamon both stared at her, and then burst out laughing. "Put him down? What are you going to do, human? Cry at us?"

Chika scowled. "Piyomon!" she cried, reaching into the pocket of her jacket. "I need your help!" With that, she held out her hand, revealing a white and red colored Digivice.

Sayuri and Piyomon both gasped, with the latter of them running up to stand in front of Chika. Then, with her eyes focused on Ikuto, Chika held out her empty hand, concentration etched on her face. A bright orange Digi-Soul then formed around her palm, which she then slammed it into the top of the Digivice, screaming "Digi-Soul Charge!"

Piyomon let out a loud cry as the Digivice unleashed Chika's power towards him, revitalizing his weakened body. "Piyomon, evolve!" He became encased in an evolutionary digi-egg, growing larger, until it shattered, revealing a large brown, white, and red eagle with two prominent horns. "AQUILAMON!"

FlareLizamon gasped a bit, but then sneered. "You think I'm afraid of another Adult!? At least last time, you were a level higher!" he roared. He then thrust out his free arm, calling out, "Flame Hit!" and unleashed a quick blast of fire at them.

Aquilamon let out a scream, and rushed forward, creating a wave of wind that forced those around him to make an effort to stand their ground. "Grand Horn!" he shouted, charging through the fire blast, his horns glowing with power. He continued on, ramming into FlareLizamon's shoulder and knocking the fiery dragon back, causing him to cry out and drop Ikuto. Chika saw this, and ran to him.

"FlareLizamon!" Shadramon exclaimed. He flapped his wings, and lunged to help his ally... only to be struck across the face by a large, green fist. After hitting the ground, he groaned and began to get up, only to pause as he saw a new digimon standing several feet away. This one looked like a bizarre turtle-like puppet. It wore headphones, had yarn-like hair, and on the top of his head were several rapidly spinning discs.

"Gawappamon!" cried Yushima, stepping up beside his newly evolved partner. "Let's back up Chika-chan and Piyomon!"

"You stupid human!" cried Shadramon, flying up. "This time, no mercy! Flare Buster!"

Shadramon aimed his cannon-like forearms at Gawappamon, firing a volley of fireballs at the digimon. Gawappamon countered, crying, "DJ Shooter!" as reached up and tossed out several of the spinning discs from his head. They hit the fireballs with expert precision, effectively canceling out both attacks.

"Leave this to me!" roared FlareLizamon. "FIRE TOWER!" He spun around rapidly, becoming a whirling pillar of fire that charged right at Gawappamon.

"Mach Impulse!"

FlareLizamon was then suddenly struck by Aquilamon, who himself was spinning in the air, shielding himself in a tornado of wind. The blow knocked FlareLizamon out of his attack, and sent him crashing into Shadramon.

"Gawappamon!" cried Aquilamon, who stopped spinning as he flew up beside the other digimon. "Shall we finish this!?"

"Gladly!" replied Gawappamon, removing his headphones, pointing them at their opponents. "Gawappa Rapper!"

"Blast Laser!"

Both digimon launched their attacks, Gawappamon releasing a blast of sound from his headgear, while Aquilamon fired off rings of energy from his mouth. Shadramon and FlareLizamon, having no time to react properly, had no chance to evade. They were first knocked back by the sound waves, and then struck by the energy rings, causing both digimon to let out an anguished scream.

"General...! Help us...!"

"Glory... to Apollomon-sama's army!"

With a final cry from each of them, both digimons' bodies exploded into data, and then reformed into two orange-colored Digi-Eggs.

"We did it! Yeah!" cried Gawappamon, striking a pose. Yushima smiled, and turned towards Chika, who was now helping Ikuto to his feet. "You and Piyomon did well, Chika-chan!"

Chika smiled, while Sayuri came up behind them. "Indeed... your father would be so proud of you...!" she said.

"Thanks mom," Chika replied, blushing. Then, she turned towards Ikuto, who had a regretful look on his face. "... Ikuto-kun, are you alright?"

"Don't worry, I'll be okay..." he replied quietly.

From several feet away, Nakamono watched the scene, with no small amount of amazement in his eyes. One of his subordinates walked up to him, looking equally shaken by the events that he had just witnessed. "Major Nakamono... what do we do now?" he asked.

"... We still need to get these people to safety," Nakamono replied, after a moment. "Secure those... egg things, and get ready to move out."

"Yes sir!" replied the soldier. He saluted, and moved to his appointed task, shouting the major's orders to the rest of the company. Nakamono, however, did not move his eyes off of the digimon and their partners.

"Is this what these 'digimon partners' are really like?" he said aloud, but quietly. "Yuriko... are you really like these people?"

With that, the major frowned.

-- --

"Shining Blast!"

"Enryuugeki!"

ShineGreymon let out a scream as he was struck, in mid-attack, by the stronger blow from KaiserGreymon's sword. He fell out of the sky and crashed into a water-side building, which crumbled beneath his weight.

"ShineGreymon!" shouted Masaru, from his position meters away. He resisted the urge to run towards his partner as he saw the digimon begin to rise, and instead craned his head upwards. Thankfully, KaiserGreymon was focused on attacks coming from Rosemon and MirageGaogamon. That would give ShineGreymon enough time to gather his strength and to rejoin the battle.

"This is the worst," said Yoshino, from her position several feet away. "That big attack of his... it took a lot of their strength, didn't it?"

"Indeed," said Touma, frowning. "Even MirageGaogamon is moving slower than usual..."

Masaru scowled, stepping forward. "There's no way I'm going to lose to some guy's flunky, even if he is more powerful!" he cried. "YOU HEAR THAT, KAISERGREYMON!? No matter how much stronger you've gotten, you're still just Apollomon's stooge!"

"No, Masaru."

Masaru turned around, and saw his father standing behind them, staring up at KaiserGreymon intently. By now, ShineGreymon was back in the air. He fired off one of his fireballs at his enemy, which the dragon knight then promptly dodged.

"... Dad? What do you mean?" Masaru asked.

Suguru narrowed his eyes. "I'm aware of this Apollomon you talked about," he said. "Mercurimon told me all about him. But this digimon... or, I should say, the digimon that make him up, they aren't fighting for his sake anymore. When they started their attack, they were focused more on themselves. They're not concerned with their master, they're fighting because of their own anger and hatred!"

Masaru gaped, and then looked upwards, scowling again. "So he's doing this just because he's angry at humans!? He doesn't even have a real cause!?"

"How dare you insult the General!"

All four humans spun around to find Asuramon looming over them. All three of his faces were glaring down at them hatefully, and together they roared in unison "Our general is one of the proudest and greatest of the Light Fang! He would never betray Apollomon-sama for the sake of vengeance!"

Before the others could say anything, Suguru stepped towards Asuramon. "Oh really? Then, pray tell, how is that Agnimon and Vritramon gained the power to evolve like this? They used the power of a _Digi-Soul_, and I know for a fact that it's not something a digimon can awaken on their own!"

Asuramon's three mouths fell open, and then they gritted their teeth in anger. "You... human! I'LL DESTROY YOU! Kidoairaku - HUMAN EMOTION!"

Asuramon's three faces then took on a radiant glow, and each one released rays of demonic power. Suguru's body instantly reacted, preparing to do what he could to evade...

... Only for him to be struck by a yellow blur, which knocked him to the side as Masaru, Touma, and Yoshino leapt clear of the blast. However, once the blasts struck the ground, both Suguru and his savior found their bodies tossed by the shock wave. Both hit the ground with a heavy thud.

Suguru grunted, and pushed himself up. He didn't feel hurt, and indeed, his adventures in the Digital World had put him through far worse. His eyes searched for the other body that had struck him... and found Leormon, struggling to get to his feet.

"You're pretty cowardly..." hissed the small beast digimon, glaring at Asuramon. "Attacking three humans from so close... just because someone told you the truth about your jerk of a boss...!"

Asuramon turned his three faces towards Leormon, and blinked as he regarded him for the first time. "Please... KaiserGreymon-sama and myself are warriors! And at least we serve a cause rather than leech off of human strength!"

"You hide behind someone else's power!" Leormon screamed, baring his fangs. "Masaru and the others, they _give_ their power to us! You're just blindly following whatever KaiserGreymon and Apollomon tell you! And like Suguru said... you can't even be honest about what your boss is really doing! If you ask me, _you_ are the real leech here!"

"Leormon..." Masaru and Suguru both breathed.

Asuramon made a fist, fire forming around it. "And who do you think you are, to insult me like this?!"

Leormon narrowed his eyes. "I'm Leormon! And for trying to harm this man..._ I will never forgive you_!"

Asuramon sneered, and thrust out his fist, not even bothering to call out his attack as he sent a burst of fire from it at Suguru and Leormon. "DAD!" Masaru cried, eyes widening in horror as the blast struck home...

... Only to be dispelled by the appearance of an orange Digi-Soul that burst forth from Suguru's body, which encompassed both him _and_ Leormon.

Leormon screamed – or more accurately,_ roared_ – as the Suguru's Digi-Soul flared even brighter. Instantly, his body began to glow, growing larger as an evolutionary digi-egg formed around him. It shattered with another powerful roar from the digimon within, revealing Leormon's evolved form: A giant, four-legged lion covered in yellow and black armor. His mane spun around like a pinwheel, and he had wheels on each of his feet. The most prominent feature, however, was his long tail, which ended in a massive spiked ball.

Touma stared, and then pulled his digital assistant from his vest, calling up its digimon database. He cycled through it quickly, before ending on the form that Leormon had just become. "LoaderLeomon...!" he gasped. "Suguru's Digi-Soul caused him to evolve straight to the Perfect level, _without_ a Digivice!"

"Then... does this mean that this digimon is...?" said Yoshino, her voice trailing off.

Masaru, however, grinned. "That's my dad!" he cried, pumping his fist into the air. "Way to go Leormon!"

LoaderLeomon glared at Asuramon, and Suguru walked up alongside him. "Masaru," said the man, "you and the others go and focus on the battle at hand. LoaderLeomon and I will take care of this one."

Masaru stared at his father for a minute, and turned his head, seeing that the battle with KaiserGreymon had begun to drift away from where they currently were. "Got it," he said with a nod. "Yoshino, Touma, come on!" The two of them nodded in turn, and together, the three of them ran off.

Suguru focused on Asuramon now. "Though I doubt it'll do any good," he said, aloud. "I'll give you one more chance to surrender, and tell us what's going on. If you do, the people at DATS will make sure your situation is dealt with accordingly."

Asuramon growled, landing on the ground and assuming a fighting stance. "I know what you humans do to digimon you can't use like your so-called partners! The entire Digital World has heard tale of that horror!" he cried. "I'll fight you till my last breath, human, rather than be led to the slaughter! A soldier of Apollomon's army fights to the very end!"

"Then you have that, at the very least," Suguru said, with a sigh. "LoaderLeomon!"

"It's fightin' time!" LoaderLeomon snarled. His mane began to spin wildly and he then charged forward, carried by the wheels on his forepaws. Asuramon let out a cry, leaping into the air, narrowly dodging the cybernetic lion's charge.

"Loader Morning Star!"

Asuramon let out a shocked cry as LoaderLeomon's tail whipped out as he passed by, striking him with the large spiked ball. Asuramon was knocked through the air, but managed to stop himself before he hit the ground. He let out a harsh cry, holding his side.

"You... take this, you!" he cried, hoarsely. He fought past the pain, and surrounded both of his hands in flame before punching out with them, throwing fireballs at LoaderLeomon. "ASURA GOD FIST!"

LoaderLeomon spun around, and growled, spinning his mane again, creating a short gust of wind that diverted the attack harmlessly to the side. "Is that all you've got?!" he shouted at Asuramon. "If that's your best, then I'll show you mine! Suguru?"

"Do it, LoaderLeomon!" replied Suguru, holding his fist up in the air.

LoaderLeomon roared again, the wheels on his paws making a revving sound. His mane began to spin once more, and he charged forward as Asuramon held his position and gathered strength for his own attack.

"KIDOAIRAKU!"

Three energy blasts flew forth from each of Asuramon's faces, colliding with the charging LoaderLeomon... only for the lion to continue on his course, unhindered. The gap between them closed quickly, and LoaderLeomon leapt up into the air.

"BORING STORM!"

"Damn it...!" Asuramon shouted, as LoaderLeomon's mane spun faster than before. He rocketed towards Asuramon, a whirlwind forming around his head and focused like a spiraling drill. He collided with the demon man, the wind drilling into his mid-section. Finally, energy exploded between them, sending Asuramon flying towards the side of a building.

LoaderLeomon landed on all fours, as dust and debris from Asuramon's impact masked the digimon's fate. Suguru walked up beside him, the both of them waiting for a sign.

A shadow appeared, and Asuramon's body emerged. The demon man limped forward, holding his side with the one of his four arms that remained – the others had already begun to dissolve into data. LoaderLeomon growled, and took a step forward...

"Wait," said Suguru, putting a hand on the lion's side. LoaderLeomon gave him a confused look, but nodded nonetheless.

"... So this is my fate," coughed Asuramon, stumbling forward. "... I'm going to revert... this... this is no fate for a warrior of... Apollomon's army...!"

Suguru frowned. "There's something to be said for your power after all, if you're able to hold on even after all that."

Asuramon's six eyes blinked, and all three faces appeared saddened. "It was all true," he groaned, falling to his knees. "Everything you said. I was a fool... to believe in Agnimon-sama and Vritramon-sama, even after they made a deal with that man..."

"Man?!" cried LoaderLeomon. "What man?!"

"I don't remember his name," Asuramon said, sadly. "But... he is something different from all of you humans. Something different from us digimon, as well. That is all I can tell you..."

Suguru stared, and then nodded. "Very well," he replied. Then, after a pause, he said, "Thank you, Asuramon."

Asuramon eyed the human, and then let out a sad laugh. "You're thanking me? And you also said that I had strength of my own, to have even lasted this long... You humans really are different from the ones that hurt our world, aren't you? We were wrong... Apollomon-sama was wrong. And now, my time is up..."

LoaderLeomon's expression softened. "There's still life for us digimon after we revert, you know. We can still make up for the things we've done, or failed to do."

Asuramon grit his teeth, and each of his of his three faces did their best to smile.

"Perhaps this is not so terrible a world to die in, after all."

Each expression then became serene, and his body broke apart into data, reforming into a Digi-Egg.

Suguru clenched his hand into a shaking fist, and did his best to continue to show resolve. Finally, he turned away and sighed, his back to LoaderLeomon. "Leormon... no, LoaderLeomon," he said. "Thank you for your help."

The lion digimon was quiet for a moment. Then, he spoke.

"... I know you, don't I?"

Suguru turned, his jaw agape as he and the lion's eyes met. LoaderLeomon did not blink, or look away, as he continued to speak. "I don't remember just how... but I know that I know you. You're Daimon Suguru. My friend. My partner."

Suguru was speechless, for a moment. Then, however, he gave the digimon a shaky smile, and nodded. "More than that, actually. You did something something for me that no one else ever could. You saved my life, and you helped me help my son."

LoaderLeomon nodded."I don't remember everything... but I think I know why I followed Masaru for so long now..."

"Are you two going to just spend the rest of the battle talking? That's not really the truest course of action for a man such as yourself, is it, Daimon Suguru?"

LoaderLeomon and Suguru's heads both turned in the direction of the new voice that had spoken. Standing there, arms crossed, was a tall, broad-shouldered man with blue hair, wearing a trench coat and a distinctive pair of sunglasses. A white and gold digimon sat curled around his shoulder.

Suguru grinned. "Satsuma-san," he said. "And Kudamon. I see you found each other."

Satsuma nodded. "I can say the same for you two," said Kudamon, from his place on the man's shoulders.

LoaderLeomon laughed, revving the wheels on his paws. "He's right, though!" he replied. "A real man doesn't just sit on the sidelines while there's still a fight to be won! Come on, Suguru! LET'S ROAR!"

-- --

The battle with KaiserGreymon had moved a considerable ways down the docks. He was being forced to stay grounded, stomping around in shallower parts of the water as he fended off the Ultimates' attacks.

As Rosemon pulled back to dodge a blast of their enemy's Enryuugeki, ShineGreymon lunged forward, only to be knocked away within moments by the flat of KaiserGreymon's reformed sword.

"ShineGreymon! Time to kick this up a notch! GeoGrey Sword!"

Masaru ran his hand over the glowing scanner on the side of his Digivice. ShineGreymon, recovering quickly from KaiserGreymon's blow, landed on solid ground, a ring of fire forming around him. He slammed his hand into the earth beneath him, drawing out a large, golden weapon with two blades.

"KaiserGreymon!" shouted ShineGreymon, pointing the blade at the dragon knight. "Prepare to face our combined power: the GeoGrey Sword!"

"You call that a weapon?!" laughed KaiserGreymon, pausing and pointing his own blade back at ShineGreymon. "I'll break it on my Dragon Soul Sword!"

"Not if we can help it!" cried the voice of Rosemon, as her whip swung down from above, wrapping around the arm KaiserGreymon used to hold his sword. Then, she raised her other arm, and thrust out with the other end of her weapon, extending it and then having it snap into a rigid point. "Roses Rapier!"

KaiserGreymon screamed as the slash cut across his helmet, leaving a large scar across it. He then moved to try and free his sword arm, only for Rosemon to tug upon it tighter. He growled, and prepared to channel his power over fire...

"GALE CLAW!"

His eyes widened, and gave another shout of pain. MirageGaogamon had rushed past him, using his surprise to slash him across his upper left shoulder, which now left deep grooves in his armor. Then, the beast knight swung around, grabbing KaiserGreymon by his newly injured arm.

"Do it, ShineGreymon!" the two Ultimates exclaimed.

KaiserGreymon snarled, struggling against their grip, while ShineGreymon gave a mighty cry and rocketed towards him. The light dragon thrust his blade out, aiming straight for the chest. Just as he was about to be run through by the blade, though, KaiserGreymon threw his head back, screaming to the heavens in a fit of rage and desperation... and in a flash, flames surged up around his entire being. The force of the sudden fire aura knocked MirageGaogamon away, and forced Rosemon to release her whip, lest she be caught up in the flames.

Still, it wasn't quite enough. Even as KaiserGreymon turned to try and avoid the GeoGrey Sword, ShineGreymon still managed to cut a gash along his enemy's chest armor, cutting deeply into him. KaiserGreymon gave an ear-shattering howl, but was quickly silenced as ShineGreymon gave him a swift kick in the gut.

The dragon knight stumbled back, barely catching himself by digging his sword into the ground beneath the shallow water, before dropping down to one knee, panting with labored breaths.

"Now, while his defenses are down!" shouted Touma. "Everyone, hit him with your strongest attacks!"

Masaru smirked. "Hey, that's my partner you're ordering around!" he shot back. "But either way, I agree! Blow him away, ShineGreymon!"

"Rosemon!" cried Yoshino. "Follow their lead! You know what to do!"

"Alright!" called all three digimon in unison. The face-like armor on MirageGaogamon's chest opened, firing out a powerful blast of energy, as Rosemon's entire body grew pink and her costume seemed to disappear. She gathered energy between her hands, and fired massive torrent of power and rose petals. Finally, wings flaring with light, ShineGreymon channeled it in front of him into the form of three individual fireballs.

"Full Moon Blaster!"

"Forbidden Temptation!"

"Sparkle Shoot!"

Together the three attacks flew forward, joining together into one massive wave of destructive force as they headed for KaiserGreymon. The dragon knight did not attempt to get out of the way, and the combined attacks struck him, an explosion erupting that sent out a large wave through the water. Masaru, Touma, and Yoshino both ducked a bit, as dispersed water rained down on them.

"Did... did we get him?" asked Yoshino, looking up, with a touch of nervousness . She turned to Touma and Masaru, who both looked uncertain.

Her answer came, then, as the earth shuddered in an all too familiar manner, and KaiserGreymon's voice cried out "Kuzuryuujinn!" The three Ultimate digimon gasped in surprise as nine flaming dragons burst through the smoke masking ShineGreymon, streaming towards them. Each one lashed out, attempting to counter the attack, but were struck all the same. It resulted in explosions that sent all three crashing into the docks.

KaiserGreymon rose, standing in a crater that had once been covered in water. His eyes glowed, and a black, fiery aura surrounded his body. "I will not be outdone by the likes of you," he said, his voice deepening in an unnatural manner. "I have exceeded the power of an Ultimate digimon... I have... I have even exceeded the power of the Olympus Twelve! I am the great KaiserGreymon-sama, greater than anyone who hides behind the power of a human!!"

"That's a load of bull crap!"

"Such hypocrisy from one such as you, KaiserGreymon!? Does the Light Fang have no honor!?"

KaiserGreymon spun around, the aura around him flaring up brighter as he did so. He let out an angry roar, as he saw who hung in the air above him... the unmistakable image of the Royal Knight, Sleipmon, who floated there with his arms crossed. LoaderLeomon stood on his back.

"Sleipmon!" shouted Masaru, grinning. "Then that must mean...!"

The sound of approaching footsteps caused him, Touma, and Yoshino to wheel around to find Suguru running up, with Satsuma at his side. "Captain Satsuma!" cried Yoshino, happily. "So, you managed to make it after all!"

"Sorry I'm late," replied Satsuma, his demeanor stern and focused, as usual. "But it seems we arrived to help just in time."

KaiserGreymon leveled his blade at Sleipmon. "You accuse me of such a thing, Royal Knight?! We all know what your group tried to do in Yggdrasil's name! And yet, you side with the very race you tried to destroy!"

"I was never on the side of that cause!" Sleipmon shouted. "And either way, my comrades learned the error of their ways! And even in their disgrace, they were better than someone like you, who has blindly thrown away all loyalty to his master! Your minion Asuramon has fallen for _your_ sake, and yet, you demean his sacrifice with your actions and your betrayal of your so-called ideals!"

"What!? How dare you! I-"

"It is a Digi-Soul that gives you power now! A Digi-Soul driven by the power of human sin!"

KaiserGreymon froze, as Sleipmon's words rung out. For a moment, the only sound was that of the rest of the city and a distant, far-off alarm. The dragon knight's body began to convulse, and his aura grew larger. Twitching, he raised his sword, and let out a monstrous scream.

Sleipmon wasted no time in leaping into action. He surged forward, LoaderLeomon leaping off of him. The cybernetic lion spun his mane, creating his whirlwind drill as he dropped down on the dragon knight. He fought through the aura, and bore into KaiserGreymon's shoulder armor, causing a crack in it to form before he jumped away.

"Bifrost!" Sleipmon called out, firing a barrage of glowing arrows from his crossbow. They struck KaiserGreymon, encasing portions of his body in ice, including his hand and the base of his sword. Then, Sleipmon pointed his shield at the dragon knight.

"Purify this evil in ice, Niflheim!" shouted the Royal Knight, addressing his weapon. "Odin's Breath!"

The shield began to glow, and a frigid whirlwind whipped out from it and engulfed KaiserGreymon. Ice began to form around his body, fixing him in place. But still, the dragon knight did not move, and instead looked looked as though he'd been seized by some terrible force from within him.

Then, his eyes began to glow again.

KaiserGreymon gave an earth shattering roar as a huge burst of black flame erupted off of him. Sleipmon's eyes widened as his attack was dispelled.

"No... what is this...?!" Sleipmon gasped. "There's more than a Digi-Soul at work here! What is driving him!?"

"MY _ANGER!_" screamed KaiserGreymon, as he lifted his sword. The blade seemed to grow more massive as he swung it, simultaneously forcing it into its crossbow formation. The blade then flew off with surprising speed, straight towards Sleipmon.

The Royal Knight had no chance to dodge. He let out a cry as he was struck, forcing him to fall into the water below. His body then lied prone, as he did everything he could to keep from devolving, less he be washed away by the waves.

"Kudamon!" Satsuma exclaimed. "No... he's still too weak from when he went through the gate!"

Yoshino bit her lower lip. "What do we do now...?"

"What we always have!"

All eyes focused on Masaru as he spoke. "Has it been too long for both of you?!" he continued, addressing both Yoshino and Touma. "This guy is no different from a Gizmon, or Belphemon! Or any of the Royal Knights! We just keep standing... and _evolve further_!"

KaiserGreymon seemed to hear his words, as he turned once Masaru stopped speaking. "Daimon Masaru," he hissed. "_Daimon Masaru...!_"

Masaru's Digi-Soul erupted off of him, and then focused around his body, becoming a single, focused glow. "I didn't spend five years in that world," he said, fixing his eyes on the dragon knight, "to come home and lose my first fight here! Especially not to someone who abandons his followers, his leader, and his ideals just because he got mad!"

Touma stepped up beside Masaru, his Digi-Soul glowing in a manner just like Masaru's. "Masaru's right! You have no honor, KaiserGreymon!"

Yoshino did so as well, her pink Digi-Soul radiating alongside the two young mens'. "And we'll never back down! We'll do it for everyone in this city that we have to protect!"

"And for Asuramon, and the Digital World!" added LoaderLeomon, as he came up beside them. "And to show this world that most Digimon aren't anything like you!"

The three humans withdrew their Digivices once again, and ran their hands over the brightly glowing light on its side.

"_CHARGE!_ Digi-Soul... _**BURST!**_"

KaiserGreymon screamed. "Daimon... Masaru... humans...! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" With that, he surged forward towards the humans with all the speed he could muster. As he neared them, he raised his sword, reforming the weapon's blade and preparing to send it crashing down on them.

Then, everything stopped. There was no sound of the blade striking the ground. No screams of horror and pain. Rather, the only sound was a single, loud _-clang-_, followed by a sickening cracking sound.

KaiserGreymon hung in the air, as ShineGreymon stood between him and the humans. The light dragon's armor had now become red and white, and his armored wings had been replaced by massive, flaming ones. The Dragon Soul Sword had been blocked by the GeoGrey Sword, which now seemed to glow with an even stronger aura.

Then, KaiserGreymon's weapon simply shattered.

KaiserGreymon floated back, looking shocked. MirageGaogamon and Rosemon floated up beside ShineGreymon. Like him, the two of them were transformed.

MirageGaogamon had lost his cape, and had a wild mane of silver hair as well as two small glowing wings on his shoulders. In addition, he carried an energy staff, with a chain that ended in a giant mace. The staff's base ended in a crescent-shaped blade.

Rosemon, meanwhile, had grown considerably larger, and was she was no longer dwarfed by her companions. Her outfit was now black and white, and her cape was glowing pink. What was more, several glowing orbs much like the one she wore on her chest floated around her.

"The tide of this battle..." began ShineGreymon.

"Is turning!" cried all three digimon together.

Together, they rushed forward. The GeoGrey Sword disappeared, replaced by a sword and shield of pure flame that ShineGreymon held in both hands. He slashed the sword at KaiserGreymon, cutting him across the mid-section. Rosemon followed his attack up with one of her own, slashing him several times with her thorn whip.

KaiserGreymon stumbled a bit, but had no chance to get his bearings. ShineGreymon and Rosemon dove off to either side to make way for MirageGaogamon as he cried out "Luna Haken Slasher!" He swung out with his crescent blade, hooking the dragon knight on his shoulder and using it flip his enemy over. KaiserGreymon landed back on dry ground, crushing the ground beneath him.

KaiserGreymon quickly rose back to his feet. He screamed wildly as his flame aura once rose up around him again. After concentrating it to its utmost, he gathered fire between his palms. Then, he thrust out, throwing a stream of fire at his three opponents.

All three wasted no time in acting. ShineGreymon surrounded his body in the most searing of flames, while MirageGaogamon made his weapon disappear so he could gather power between his palms. Rosemon brought a finger to her lips, and blew a kiss, summoning multiple glowing hearts.

"Aguichant Lèvres – _Arousing Lips!"_ commanded Rosemon, firing multiple rays from the hearts.

"Final... Mirage... _Burst!"_ shouted MirageGaogamon, releasing the energy from his hands.

"Final _Shining __**BURST!" **_roared ShineGreymon, channeling the fire around him into a blazing torrent.

The three attacks cut through KaiserGreymon's blast, and struck the dragon knight together. He screamed in agony as he was consumed in the resulting explosion, which then became a smoldering pillar of fire and smoke, his body becoming consumed within it.

"Alright!" cried Masaru, throwing his fist into the air. "You guys did it!"

There came no response from the digimon, however, who were still focused on where KaiserGreymon once stood. Masaru blinked at this, frowning. "What's wrong, you guys?" he asked.

"There's... something... still there..." said Sleipmon, as he finally rose to stand. "But I don't... I don't think it's any threat to us... not now, anyway..."

Upon saying those words, something did indeed emerge from the smoke and fire. Yoshino let out a horrified gasp, while everyone's eyes just widened. Hovering there were Agnimon and Vritramon, their armor black instead of mostly red. There was a soulless look in both their eyes. But most horrific thing of all was the fact that half of each their bodies appeared to have been torn away.

"Daimon Masaru..." said Agnimon, his voice cold and hollow.

"... Your power is not so different from ours," said Vritramon, his voice identical to his brother's.

Then, the two of them simply broke apart into data. Neither reformed into Digi-Eggs, as their data simply dispersed into the wind.

For a while, all stood silent. The Ultimate digimon returned to the harbor, and, along with LoaderLeomon, shrunk down to their Child stages as they neared their partners. Lalamon immediately darted ahead of them all, flying into Yoshino's awaiting arms, where the woman embraced her partner with a tight hug. Gaomon, meanwhile, looked to Touma and simply smiled, which was returned back to him.

The moment was broken, however, as Agumon leveled a concerned look at his partner. As they noticed this, the others looked to Masaru, who was focused – silently - on where the two digimon had once hung in the air.

"Aniki..." said Agumon quietly, "are you alright?"

Masaru looked at him... and smiled.

"Sure am," said Masaru, the smile turning into a wide grin. Then, he spread his arms and put them around both Touma and Yoshino, putting them into a mock-headlock. "You think I'd let two idiots' words get to me like that? Those guys were no Yggdrasil, let me tell you that!"

Yoshino blinked, and then laughed. "I see you haven't changed one bit, Masaru," she said.

"You could tell by the way he had no idea what he was doing, and just charged in head first," mocked Touma, smirking at his comrade.

Masaru smirked back at him. "Yeah, 'cause it's not like anyone else here did anything like that."

Suguru laughed, while Satsuma just crossed his arms and smiled. Leormon let out a laugh as well, jumping up and draping himself on Suguru's left shoulder. "Yeah, well, Masaru, I hope this doesn't disappoint you too much, but I think I've found someone else to follow in this world!"

Masaru pulled away from his friends, and put his hands on his hips. "Well, fine," he replied. "If you want to throw away _all that time_ you were my follower. But hey, at least this way you're not a subordinate to Agumon anymore!"

Kudamon jumped up on Satsuma's shoulders, eying Leormon and the similarity of their two positions for a moment. "Yes, yes, we've all found each other. But I don't think you all grasp the matter at hand... we need to contact the Confidentiality Ministry, and-"

"Kudamon," said Satsuma, softly. "There will be time enough for that later. There's something more important to focus on, now."

Kudamon stared at his partner for a moment, and then let out a small sigh. "Very well, Satsuma." Then he smiled. "... I think I would prefer that anyway."

Chuckling lightly to himself, Suguru turned to Masaru. "You ready to go home, son?"

Masaru looked to Agumon, who nodded happily. Laughing a bit himself, he turned his eyes back to his father..

"Yeah, Dad. Let's go home."

-- --

Noguchi Ikuto sat quietly on the sofa in the Daimon family's living room. Major Nakamono had made sure they were taken there once they had gotten the news that the attacking digimon had been dealt with. The major didn't stay himself, but he had mentioned that he and his men would remain in the area. Soon after this, his parents and little sister had arrived, and had naturally fussed over him a great deal. They were all there, save for Masaru and the others, as well as Miki and Megumi.

He looked around, taking a survey of the room. His parents and sister sat next to him, all of them having since fallen asleep. Chika sat in another chair, wide awake and with her mother's arms around her. Piyomon stood next to them. Yushima was also dozing on a chair he had taken from the dining room, with Kamemon leaning up against the chair, having long since drifted off himself. The PawnChessmon sat alone in a corner, clutching their spears. Relena sat quietly on the sole remaining chair, with Touma's butler standing at her side. Gotsumon sat not too far from them, his head bobbing up and down as he tried to keep awake.

Ikuto was feeling miserable. He couldn't help it. He was jealous, and slightly angry at everyone, all because Falcomon clearly hadn't returned. Everyone _else_ had found each other again, but he had no idea what had become of someone who was like a brother to him. _Gotsumon_ had made it to the Human World instead of his partner. There was something unfair about that to Ikuto.

No one had even said anything to him about Falcomon, either. Of course, that was to be expected. It had been a long night, and almost everyone was worried that someone precious to them wouldn't be making it home alive. And Ikuto had mostly withdrawn into himself, so it was not as if he had given anyone the chance.

Ikuto lowered his head and sighed. He looked up again, at Chika and Piyomon... and noticed the girl staring back at him. He instantly frowned, feeling guilty. After what he and Chika had been through the last five years, after how close they'd gotten... it wasn't right for him to feel this way towards her

Chika began to open her mouth, preparing to say something. But before she could get a chance, they heard the sound of a door opening.

Both of them stood up, and everyone sleeping was jostled awake as a large group suddenly came into the room. Leading the way was Masaru, along with Agumon, followed by Touma, Yoshino, Lalamon, and Gaomon. Coming in after them was Suguru, with Leormon padding alongside him, and Satsuma with Kudamon.

"Masaru-niichan!" Chika cried, standing up. Instantly, she ran forward, and wrapped her arms around her brother. Sayuri came up behind her, gasping her son's name as she joined in on the hug.

"You're alright," the woman said, starting to sob. "I've been so worried, for the longest time..."

Ikuto watched as everyone gathered around Masaru and the rest of the group, including his own family. Masaru assured his mother and sister he was all right, and did his best to free himself from their arms. Ikuto saw Suguru smirk, and placed his hand on his wife on daughter's shoulders, drawing their attention.

"Sayuri, Chika, if I can pull you away from Masaru for a minute," he said, "I'd like to introduce you to Leormon. He's going to be staying with us for a while, now." He motioned towards the lion digimon, who smirked and raised his head a bit proudly.

Chika and Sayuri both blinked. Then, the younger of them squealed, as Chika bent down to hug the digimon. "Oh, he's so cute!"

"Bwah?!" grunted Leormon, his eyes widening. Piyomon's eyes widened and he stared disbelieving, causing Agumon to laugh at the irony of it all.

"Oh, Masaru-sama!" cried Gotsumon, shoving his way past Yushima and the Noguchis. "I was so worried that you'd never come back alive! I'm so sorry for my lack of faith in you, sir!"

Yoshino snickered. "So, just how many followers do you have now, Masaru?"

Everyone laughed, which caused Ikuto to look to the side. He resigned himself to be ignored, and left with his thoughts... until a few moments later, when he realized everyone had gone silent. He raised his head, and saw everyone staring at him. Masaru and Chika were both giving the boy a concerned look, while his parents looked unsure of what to say.

"Ikuto..." said Masaru, "I'm sorry. Falcomon... he wasn't there when the Gate appeared. He was trying to help some other digimon get away from a battle... that was the last we saw of him."

Tears welled up in Ikuto's eyes. "Is... is he alive, at least?" he asked, fighting the urge to cry.

Masaru nodded. "Yeah, I'm certain of it," answered the young man. "Falcomon wouldn't let that happen, not before he could see you again..."

Ikuto forced himself to smile. "Then... then I guess it's alright," the boy choked out.

"Oh Ikuto...!" Chika gasped, running up and hugging him. Ikuto blinked, and hugged her back. His parents and sister then followed, joining her in wrapping their arms around him. Everyone gathered around him them, save for Masaru and Agumon. They stood apart from the group, watching the somber moment.

Ikuto looked at him, and Masaru gave him a nod. With that, Ikuto developed the courage not to break down in tears.

He would wait for Falcomon, until he and his partner found each other again. Masaru had taught him that nothing was impossible years ago. It was for that reason - and Masaru's own code that a man never lied - that he would trust his friend's word that Falcomon was alive. He also trusted that one day, they'd see each other again.

Ikuto clung tighter to Chika, knowing that he at least had both her, his family, and his friends until that day arrived.

**-To Be Continued**

-- --

**_Mega Sez: _MEGARAPTOR TAKES THE CONTROL. Hi, everyone. I'm leading off today, because, for once, I did most of the writing on something! Yes, the core of this chapter was written by me, ME, with Infinity taking the role of picking at it and revising what needed to be revised. So your praise goes to me, and me alone. FEED MY EGO! BURN, DIGI-SOUL OF MISPLACED SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT, AND ALLOW ME TO CONQUER MY ENEMIES!**

**Ha ha, kidding folks. I'd be soooo lost without my co-author.**

**Anyway, this story succeeds in finishing what we started in chapter 1: Getting Masaru back to the human world, and reuniting everyone with their partners. Well, except for Ikuto, but we have reasons for keeping him and Falcomon apart. Want to see where that goes? Well, keep reading.**

**Also, like Infinity said, this chapter was originally one and the same, with chapter 2. You can see why we broke it up, as doing so would make chapter 2 thirty or more pages long. And doing so also allowed us to put more individual focus on Chika and Suguru's battles without worrying so much about pacing. Showing Chika's ability to fight, and reuniting Suguru and Leormon (come on, you guys have figured out who he is by now, right?) are both pretty important, so it's all good.**

**Now to cover various miscellaneous details. I'm sure the lot of you don't recognize two of the attacks that ShineGreymon uses in this chapter. Well, the secret is that Infinity and I are geeks, and we just like using stuff that doesn't make it into the anime. Sparkle Shoot and Shine Hammer both come from the card game and Digimon Savers: Another Mission. Makes battles more fun to write. So no, we're not making stuff up! Yay for that.**

**Lastly... in case people are confused about various attacks, such as Ravemon, Asuramon, or KaiserGreymon's... These attacks are not translated in English in the Japanese sources. They have English _meanings_, which are important for readers to know so they have an idea what the hell is going on. However, this would get awkward to spell out _every single time_, so when we use an attack that's not in English, we'll write it out the first time with a translation as part of it, and then never use it again.**

**That's all I have to say. Stay tuned for Chapter 4, everyone! And now, let's hear what Infinity has to say.**

**_Infinity Says: _Hell, I had it easy this time. Just sit back, drink tea, and make like the Digimon Kaiser, cracking my whip and making someone else do the hard work for me!**

**...kidding.**

**...maybe.**

**Seriously, though. We're rounding the finishing point of _The Return_ here, with only one more part left, I think. Well, depending on how long it runs, I guess. But probably only one more. At the end of that, I think we'll both have a fair amount to say, because once _The Return_ finishes, there's a lot more coming down for the _Balance of Power_ universe as a whole. A LOT more. But, like I said, we'll save that for next time. **

**For point of reference, though, although we don't plan on going over who wrote exactly what every time, in case you're wondering, with me writing the skeleton of the first chapter, and Mega the third, the SECOND was basically written half & half. Then when we decided to split the second chapter down the middle into two parts, I took primary editing duties for the second while Mega plowed through the third. So I'd say our teamwork's working out pretty well, at least. :D**


	4. A New Mission! DATS Revived

**Disclaimer: Digimon Savers is the property of Toei Animation, Bandai, and Akiyoshi Hongo.**

**Author's Note: It should be noted that in this chapter, we begin referring to the Olympus Twelve as the "Twelve Gods" or "Twelve Gods of Olympus." This is in order to make it more in line with he more accurate title of their group. Earlier chapters will be edited to reflect that within due time. Also, we have changed all references to "Chief Yushima" to "Commander Yushima", to avoid confusion between his title and the title of another character.**

**Digimon Savers: Balance of Power  
****Prologue: The Return  
****Part Four - "A New Mission! DATS Revived!"  
****By Infinity Blade and Megaraptor the Scribe**

After three days of being back in the Human World, Masaru decided that he enjoyed sleeping in a real bed again _very_ much.

There was something to be said for being out in nature, and hardening your body by living in the environment. But then, after doing that for five years, having a chance to actually relax while sleeping was a welcome change, even for a hard-edged street fighter.

And if all this caused him to sleep until noon... well, that was good too.

The young man brought a hand to his forehead, yawning as he stirred himself awake. He was lying on his bed with his arms and legs sprawled out and the covers half on him. Groaning, he sat up and rubbed his face for a moment before standing. As he got to his feet, he lazily noticed, once again, that his room had been left the way he left it was when he departed from this world over five years ago.

He shuffled out of his room, towards the family bathroom. As he began to remove his bedclothes in preparation for a shower, Masaru reminded himself that today was an important day – and one he hadn't been looking forward to at all. He frowned to himself, and climbed into the shower. As the warm water cascaded over him, he started to think back on the last several days.

Masaru had been faced with so much in such a short period of time. The battle with Apollomon, the Digital Gate appearing, and then the showdown with KaiserGreymon. What Major Nakamono had told him. And then there was what he'd found about Chika, both in regards to Piyomon and Ikuto. The things regarding his sister honestly didn't surprise him, but he couldn't help but think about them along with everything else that had been dumped into his lap.

Honestly, Masaru was glad that he'd been given a couple of days to just relax, and get used to being back in a world where things didn't routinely try to eat you. He had loved his adventures back in the Digital World, and he always enjoyed a good fight, but even he had his limits. If he had been forced to confront these issues all at once, he had no doubt that he would have lashed out at someone.

Ten minutes later, Masaru came out of the shower, and with a towel around him, returned to his room. He looked around... and saw a familiar-looking blue and red set of clothes lying on his dresser. He smiled to himself, and began to dress. This wasn't the same uniform he'd worn back when he first joined DATS, but it still felt good to be wearing one again.

Once he put on his belt, he was done. The boots, the jacket, the red shirt and pants... they were all just like what he'd worn years ago. He grinned, and started to head out of his room... when he realized he'd forgotten something. He ran back in, and retrieved from a dresser drawer the tag that his father had given him years ago, and put it on around his neck.

After this, he headed down the stairs and found that the house was empty. Of course, this didn't surprise him; he knew that his parents and Chika had headed out early, and that the digimon had all been taken to DATS Headquarters to be tested to see if there had been any adverse effects from coming through the Digital Gate. Masaru hadn't agreed with the government when they'd demanded it, but after talking with his father and being assured they'd stay safe, he'd backed down.

Either way, it would all be settled today.

Masaru headed out the door of his family home, and sat down to wait on the front steps. His parents had taken the car (he was a bit surprised they'd gotten one in the time he was gone). It didn't matter much, as he hadn't exactly had a chance to learn how to drive in the years he was in the Digital World.

A few minutes later, a vehicle pulled up in front of his house – a black and white police car. Normally, he would find this quite alarming and unwelcome, but this time he was expecting it. He got up and headed over to the car, as the driver inside opened the door for him.

"Well, well, well," said Fujieda Yoshino as he got in on the passenger side. "Back in uniform, I see."

Masaru grinned as he sat down. "Yep," he said. "Same goes for you, huh?"

Yoshino smiled, laughing nervously. She was indeed wearing a uniform that was similar to the one that she'd worn years before, though this one included longer pants with a short skirt over it. "Well, yeah," she replied. "Though... well, never mind. It can wait till we get to headquarters and everyone gets up to speed on everything."

Masaru nodded, and leaned back in his seat as Yoshino got the car moving again. "Still, this is impressive," he replied. "Dad says you've been with the traffic bureau...?"

Yoshino nodded. "Police work was something that ended up coming naturally," she said. "I don't know, after Lalamon and the others left, we all had to return to being normal people. Of course, Satsuma was the one that helped me get the job..."

This caused Masaru to raise an eyebrow. "From everything I know about the Captain, I would think that working as a traffic cop is the last thing he'd be doing..."

His words caused Yoshino to remain quiet for a few moments. Then she sighed. "Well, Masaru, DATS didn't _fully _leave our lives," she said. "It was officially disbanded in Japan, but... DATS was also an international organization. So the Captain was still loyal to them, even while he was living and working here..."

Masaru nodded. "So he got a quiet job to cover the fact that he was still looking into Digimon matters."

This caused Yoshino to look surprised. Then she laughed a bit, shaking her head. "Wow, Masaru, you're a lot sharper than you used to be. I'm impressed."

Masaru grinned. "Well, I've had nothing to do but think about it the last few days," he replied. "Besides, that old man Nakamono told me things had been going on with Digimon since I'd left. Satsuma isn't the type of man to sit back while stuff like that's going on."

Yoshino laughed again. "Oh, really? You're still doing that 'type of man' thing, huh? Well, I guess the more people change, the more they stay the same."

Masaru closed his eyes, putting his arms behind his head. "A man doesn't let go of his beliefs," he replied. "So, what about you, Yoshino? Ikuto and Chika practically grew up without me looking, and I hear Touma's even more of a brainiac. Plus, it seems like Satsuma's a secret agent. Somehow, I don't think you'd just sit idly by while everyone else moved forward."

The woman glanced at him, and smiled to herself. "Like I said, Masaru. DATS didn't fully leave all of our lives, and Captain Satsuma hasn't been the only one playing 'secret agent.' Besides, Touma and I promised each other something when you left."

Masaru about jumped in his seat, and his eyes widened. "'Promised each other something?'" he asked, sounding surprised. "You mean you two are together!?"

Yoshino about slammed down on the brakes as they came to an intersection, causing the car to jerk somewhat as it came to a stop. Yoshino gave Masaru an annoyed look, and sighed loudly. "No, Masaru, that isn't even remotely it. Please stop thinking in clichés and reading too much into things."

Masaru blinked. "Ohhhhh," he said, as he took in her words. "So... what did you promise, then?"

The woman shook her head, and got them moving again. "We promised each other that we'd keep moving forward. Try to get stronger, as individuals if not physically. We said that if we didn't, we wouldn't be able to look you in the eye when you came back from the Digital World."

Not sure what to say to that, Masaru simply stared at her. Her words had actually surprised him... But then, after thinking about what the three of them had gone through all those years ago, perhaps it shouldn't _be_ that much of a surprise. And so, Masaru smiled, sitting back again.

"Well, then I'm glad we can all keep looking each other in the eye, then."

He saw Yoshino glance at him, her face a bit red. "You're welcome then," she said quickly, focusing back on the road.

Masaru grinned as he closed his eyes once more. It wasn't amusement that made him do so, but legitimate admiration for his friend. It seemed that digimon and DATS wouldn't be the only ones handing him surprises now that he was back in the Human World.

-- --

When the two of them had arrived at headquarters, they found something that surprised Masaru a great deal: the fact that the place was swarmed with reporters and security. The former of which surrounded the building, with the latter forming a perimeter that kept them all from getting too close to the building. Said security was also the reason why Yoshino's vehicle was able to get past the media crews without the two of them being hit with a barrage of questions.

After parking in the garage at the rear of the building, they'd entered the headquarters proper. This too was filled with activity, and the security seemed to extend into the building. However, the men in black suits and glasses seemed to give the two of them a wide berth.

"Okay," said Masaru, looking a bit annoyed, "Dad told me there'd be important people here today, but who did they roll out? The Prime Minister?"

Yoshino shook her head. "No. But we will be meeting with the Confidentiality Minister, and the official assigned to network affairs," she replied. "And what's more, they've called in the heads of DATS in Europe and America. I think Captain Satsuma also said that the U.S. Ambassador and Japan's representative to the United Nations would be involved."

Masaru's eyes widened. "Geez, that's more important people than I've even _seen_ in my life. The only person from the government I ever met was..." his voice trailed off, and he frowned. "Wait, you said the Confidentiality Ministry. That means Hashiba is gonna' be here, doesn't it?"

Yoshino glanced at him. "Well, not exactly..."

Before Masaru could question what she meant, a voice addressed them from further down the hall, calling "Daimon Masaru, Fujieda Yoshino!" Both of them looked up, to see Kentarou Nakamono approaching them, with several men wearing security badges. The Major himself was wearing one, too.

"Major Nakamono," Yoshino said, bowing a bit, while Masaru just folded his arms. The man came up to them, and nodded.

"I'm glad you're here," he said. "The meeting is just about ready to begin, but there's several people that Satsuma wants you to be introduced to beforehand. Could you both come with me, please?"

Masaru frowned. "'_Satsuma_ wants us to meet'? He echoed, glaring at the man. "Do you mean that, or are you guys really just wanting to ask us more questions?"

Before Nakamono could reply, Yoshino elbowed Masaru sharply in the side. "Masaru, it's not at all what you think," she replied. Then, she focused on Nakamono. "Understood, Major. Please, take us there."

Nakamono glanced at the two of them, and nodded his head, looking somewhat put off. Masaru eyed him for a moment, and his eyes met the old man's. The two stared at each other for a moment, before the Major spoke. "This way please," he said, leading them down the hall.

Masaru sighed, and began to follow. He wondered, and not for the first time, just what the hell was going on.

-- --

Touma H. Norstein was a person who reacted to official proceedings differently from his friend, Masaru. This was mostly due to the fact that he was more versed in such things, and because he was not as distrustful of authority. Of course, to some degree, Touma _was_ authority, both in regards to DATS and his life outside the organization.

Still, there were things that not even he expected on a day like today.

"Touma!" said a loud, familiar voice. "Just what the hell is going on here!?"

Touma spun around, and saw Masaru approaching him with Yoshino, several men, and Major Nakamono. His two comrades looked rather surprised by what was in the room they had just entered, which was a feeling they ended up sharing with Touma.

"You tell me, Masaru," Touma said, sighing. "You tell me."

Masaru balked at him, and looked past Touma. The large room had both humans _and_ digimon in it. And they were people and digimon that _weren't_ members of DATS.

As they all took in the scene, they took note of the variety of digimon first. One looked like a child-sized hercules beetle, with a mostly blue shell and what looked like a scarf around his neck. Another was a white puppy-like digimon wearing a golden collar, and still another looked like a small, round, orange bird with short wings and a prominent red tail. There were still others, with all of them numbering about a dozen. That was without counting their human counterparts, of course.

But that wasn't the end of it. Two of those digimon had several very familiar-looking humans standing with them. One was a young man with glasses and scraggly dark-colored hair. A thin-looking, haggard man was with him, and they were both standing with the puppy-like digimon. As for the beetle, he was with a powerful-looking man, who wore a sports jacket with a name sprawled prominently on the back. The two of them were also with a woman and a child.

Masaru, Yoshino, and Touma each recognized these people. The young man and the man with him were Shiratori Kouichiro and his father. The strong-looking man was named Hayase Tsubasa, and the people with him were his wife and daughter. Touma in particular recognized the Shiratoris from DATS' files, and he knew Hayase personally from his own experiences with the man. What was more, they were humans who had been involved in encounters with digimon, and as a consequence, been investigated by DATS – directly in some cases, and indirectly in others.

They had also had their memories of those events erased. So, it was a bit of a surprise when Hayase and Kouichiro both stepped away from their family members and approached Touma and the others. The two digimon associated with them followed

"Daimon Masaru," said Kouichiro, smiling. "It's been a long time."

Hayase smirked, crossing his arms as he focused on Touma. "And you would be Touma H. Norstein, would you not? It's a pleasure to meet you again."

Masaru's jaw just fell open. "What... how... you... digimon!?" he managed to force out, as his eyes darted from the beetle to the puppy rapidly. Then, he threw up his arms, and just about exploded. "How the hell are you guys even here!?" And then he pointed at Hayase. "And how do _you_ even remember us!?"

Both Hayase and Kouichiro's eyes widened a bit, as though they were surprised by Masaru's words. Before either one of them could say anything, however, the beetle stomped up to Masaru, and pointed a claw at the brown-haired young man. "Who do you think you are, talking to Hayase-senshu like that!? You apologize to him, right now!"

Hayase let out a groan, grabbing the digimon by his horn, pulling him back gently. "That's enough, KoKabuterimon," he said. "I'm sure that he didn't mean any disrespect... More than likely, he hasn't been briefed on just what's been going on."

"That's an understatement," said Masaru, rubbing his forehead.

"It's a long story," said Kouichiro, smiling nervously. "By the way... Masaru, this is my partner, Plotmon," he said, motioning towards the digimon at his side.

Everyone looked down at the puppy, who gave them all a small wave with his paw. "Greetings. It's a pleasure to meet you all," he said.

They looked back up, and Touma and Masaru both began to launch questions of their own. However, Nakamono caught their attention by clearing his throat. "If I may," said the major, "I can tell you what's going on. I'm sure Fujieda here is already familiar with this, to a degree, but I have the full story."

Masaru and Touma's heads both snapped towards Yoshino. "You knew about this!?" asked Masaru.

Yoshino let out an annoyed sigh, and shook her head. "Not really," she said, her eyebrow twitching slightly. "I told you, Masaru, that I've been affiliated with DATS to a degree, but all I knew was that there were 'strange goings on' involving people who'd encountered digimon. All of this surprises me about as much as it does you."

Masaru blinked... and after thinking a moment, seemed to accept that. Then, he turned back towards Nakamono. "Well, old man, if you can explain some things, you might as well say so."

Nakamono frowned at the young man, but nodded to him nonetheless. "Very well. Daimon Masaru, I told you several days ago that Digital Gates had been appearing in this world in the years since you went to the Digital World. What you're looking at..." he indicated KoKabuterimon and Plotmon, and a number of the digimon around them, "are what came out of them."

His words caused Masaru to look confused, so Touma decided to give his own observation. "These digimon were eggs that were sent from the Digital World, then," he said. "That's what happened with most of us. Eggs appeared in the Human World. But why people like Shiratori-san and Hayase-senshu?"

"We have no idea," said Hayase, answering Touma. "But after it happened, we were approached by Yushima-san and he used a device to restore our memories of when we first learned of digimon. Soon after, other people in the government approached us... including Major Nakamono."

"I see," said Touma, raising an eyebrow. "... And judging by you two, the common theme is the fact that you both knew someone who drew a digimon into this world. But why you, and not Hayase-senshu's daughter? Or Shiratori-san's father? They were the ones who had the direct contact."

"... That's a question we've all been asking," said Nakamono, looking regretful. "And I was put in charge of operations in Japan that were meant to investigate and contain what was going on with the people who were making contact."

Touma stared at the major, and narrowed his eyes. "That's an odd role, for a major in Japan's Ground Defense Forces."

Nakamono's eyes widened, and Masaru glared more intently at him. Then, the man seemed to visibly sag, as his eyes fell to the floor. "I'll admit, I had a personal stake in the matter," he said. "I've been authorized to tell you everything. For all DATS has done in secret in this country these last five years, it seems the Confidentiality Ministry is set to give you free reign again..."

Hayase spoke up, walking forward and putting a hand on Nakamono's shoulder. "Major Nakamono... it's alright. You told all of us this, when you came to us. We're not all blameless in this affair."

The major was quiet for a moment, before he nodded to the other man. "Very well. My family... was also affected by the sudden appearance of these digimon," he said. "And several years before, I was involved in an incident with a digimon. I was under stress from my position, and the creature seemed to just appear in response to that. DATS dealt with it, and managed to cover it up. However, I used my position to keep my memories from being erased, and so, when... that creature's egg appeared years later, to my family, I thought I had cursed them somehow. And then, my daughter, Yuriko..."

The man looked up, his eyes falling on a girl wearing pigtails and glasses, who was now standing with the bird-like digimon they'd seen earlier. "... She bonded with it, somehow. All she did was touch the egg, and then suddenly, it hatched. It was completely unlike what had happened to me. I couldn't separate them, and the government ordered us to hide it from the neighbors. If I wanted to understand what was happening to my daughter at all, I _had_ to become involved in the investigation."

For a while, the group remained silent. Nakamono continued to stare at his daughter and her partner for a few seconds longer, before his gaze found the floor again. Masaru in particular looked affected by his story, and prepared to open his mouth to say something.

But just then, a voice came out over the building's P.A. system. "All personnel and guests, please report to the meeting hall. We are prepared to begin."

Nakamono sighed, and shook his head. Then, he looked up and smiled sadly at everyone. "Well, it seems we have to go. Come on everyone, let's hope we all get some answers today."

-- --

About fifteen minutes later, Masaru found himself sitting between Yoshino and Touma in DATS' meeting hall. As he sat there, he realized that he didn't know this part of the building even _existed_ before today. He wondered if it had always been there, or if it had been added when the building had been rebuilt several years before.

The three of them were sitting in the front row. Nakamono was sitting in the same row, but further down, along with his daughter, her partner, and a woman that Masaru could only assume was the major's wife. The other people, including Hayase and Kouichiro, were sitting in the rows further back with their partners, along with the press that had been allowed into the building. At the front of the room was a stage with a meeting table, at which four people were now sitting. Masaru could tell that they looked important.

"So, who are those guys?" Masaru whispered, leaning towards Yoshino.

Yoshino sighed, and pointed at the dark-haired woman sitting in the center. "That's Nagano Wakana, the head of the Confidentiality Ministry," she said, "and the man sitting next to her is Chief Hongo Naoyuki, who took over Hashiba's position. The man on the other side of her is Japan's representative to the United Nations, Akashi Jutaro, and the American is the US ambassador to Japan, Mark Ellis."

Masaru's eyes widened a bit, and he nodded. "They're all big wigs then..."

Yoshino shook her head, looking slightly amused. "Yeah, they're all big wigs. So, please try to control yourself today."

This caused Masaru to mutter to himself, but before he could shoot back a reply, he saw something else that caused him to sit up and take notice. Satsuma came into the hall, followed by his father, their family, Yushima, Ikuto and the Noguchis, Miki, Megumi, and then finally, the digimon. Satsuma was back in his DATS uniform, but that in and of itself was not odd... the fact that his father was wearing one that was _identical_ was, however. His sister and Ikuto were both in uniforms as well. And Yushima was wearing a _business_ suit, which was odd, considering the fact that Masaru had only seen him in his usual outfit, or a pair of shorts and a Hawaiian-style shirt.

The entire group moved to sit down in the front row, except for the digimon, who ended up standing in front of their partners. Chika shot Masaru an excited smile, and Miki and Megumi both gave him, Touma, and Yoshino waves before they sat down. Kudamon, of course, was on Satsuma's shoulders, and Leormon and Kamemon both took their places by Yushima and Suguru. Finally, Agumon, Lalamon, and Gaomon came to a stop in front of the trio. All six of them nodded to one another, and then turned their heads towards the front of the meeting hall.

Masaru saw the four officials exchange a glance, and then each of them nodded. Nagano then stood up. "It seems that we are ready to begin," she said, addressing the assembly. "These proceedings will now come to order."

A hush fell over the room, and Masaru shifted in his seat a bit before sitting up straight. Nagano then sat down, and focused her gaze on Satsuma for a moment before turning to Hongo. "Chief Hongo, if you would please begin."

Hongo, a somewhat fresh-faced, nervous-looking man with black hair and glasses, nodded, and stood up. "As you all now know, over fifteen years ago, humanity became aware of the existence of the Digital World. No sooner than we had discovered its existence, did we come under threat from it, in the form of numerous disappearances and the appearance of its..." he paused, looking at Agumon and the other digimon for a moment, "... _inhabitants_ in our world. Naturally, a greater effort to understand this so-called 'new world' was made, in the form of an expedition. Again, as you are all well aware, it ended somewhat... inconclusively."

Masaru glanced at Satsuma and his father, who both seemed a bit put off. He frowned to himself, and looked back at Hongo, who continued. "After the expedition, the Confidentiality Ministry allowed for the formation of a branch of the global organization called DATS in Japan. DATS became allied with a number of 'digital monsters', and made it its mission to investigate and combat hostile forces from the Digital World. Daimon Suguru... will you please explain to us the details behind DATS'... _'alliance'_ with the digimon."

Masaru looked back at his father, who stood up quietly. Suguru cleared his throat before speaking. "Thank you, Chief Hongo. I was the sole member of the Digital World exploration team to remain there after the rest of the group was forced to return. In the time I was there, I encountered a number of digimon, as well as the so-called ruler of the Digital World... an entity calling itself Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil was uncertain of humanity's influence upon its world, but I convinced it to allow humankind a chance to protect itself as a means of... testing us. He allowed one of his subordinates, Sleipmon, who is now known as Kudamon, and a number of other digimon passage into the human world. There, Kudamon and a digimon named Kamemon became the partners of my good friends, Satsuma Rentarou and Yushima Hiroshi, and also opened the doors to negotiations that led to the establishment of both the Digimon Treaty, as well as the formation of DATS itself."

Hongo nodded, sternly. "Yes, yes... but this being known as Yggdrasil... He was also the very same entity that ordered a massive attack on humankind five and a half years ago, was he not?"

Suguru grew quiet, and remained silent for a moment before answering. "... Yes, yes he was," said Suguru. "However, this was done in response to the actions of a man called Kurata Akihiro, who effectively committed several acts of war against the Digital World. Actions that, if I recall correctly, were sanctioned and condoned by the Japanese government."

Hongo's mouth fell open, and for a moment, he looked absolutely blind-sided by Suguru's words. "... Yes, that is correct," he said. "H-However, Yggdrasil reacted without diplomacy..."

"Chief Hongo," said Nagano, "if i may, Suguru-san has a unique perspective on this 'Yggdrasil', and has already made it clear to us that it is not a being that approaches situations in the same manner as humans. And, if I am correct Suguru-san, Yggdrasil has since removed himself from active involvement in either worlds' affairs, has he not?"

Suguru frowned. "That is what we believed, Minister Nagano. But now... we are not so certain."

Nagano looked mildly surprised. It was not she who spoke next, but rather, Ambassador Ellis. "... You are referring to the Digital Gates that have been appearing since Yggdrasil's withdrawal, are you not?" asked the man.

"I am. But, I believe that someone else can explain this aspect of Yggdrasil's intentions better than I can. Kudamon?"

All four officials looked surprised as Suguru addressed the digimon on Satsuma's shoulders. Kudamon, however, wasted no time in hopping off of Satsuma's shoulders. "Ambassador. Minister Nagano. Years ago, Yggdrasil restored the damaged barrier between our two worlds, and as a result, returned all humans who had been lost in the Digital World and put a stop to accidentally occurring Digital Gates. However, there are over a dozen humans and digimon here today that prove that travel between two worlds has occurred since then. The only explanation is that the Gates that united these people were opened intentionally."

Ellis nodded. "And you know this personally, as one of Yggdrasil's servants?"

Kudamon shook his head. "I do not. However, I do know that there are only two things capable of opening gates intentionally. One is human invention. The other is Yggdrasil."

The ambassador frowned. "That is acceptable reasoning, but do you offer any proof?"

Kudamon nodded. "I can. Professor Noguchi Kenji has researched this matter." And with that, the digimon looked over at Ikuto's father, who stood up, looking somewhat nervous.

"Uhm. Minister. Ambassador, if I may..." he said, bowing once. "I have had a chance to analyze a number of the Digimon who have appeared in this world the last several days. And I believe I have evidence of both why they are here, and just why they have bonded to their human partners."

Nagano and Ellis each exchanged glances, and the Minister nodded. "Go on."

"Well, to begin with," began Noguchi, "each and every one of these people have something in common. They all have positively confirmed themselves to have Digi-Souls, which is a kind of energy linked to human emotions. Over the years, we have learned that a Digi-Soul can manifest only through contact with a digimon. This contact can be incidental, or it can be prolonged. In the case of some, one person's _relative_ can have the majority of the contact, and one can still develop a Digi-Soul. However, the _strength_ of the Digi-Soul is tied to the owner's specific qualities."

"And what..." asked Ellis, "is the importance of all this?"

"Well," replied Noguchi, "for some reason, all digimon are somehow drawn to humans of intense emotion. This can even occur in their egg form. However, in the Digimon I analyzed, I found, buried in their code, something that made this drive _stronger_. They were different from other digimon. The only explanation is that all these digimon were sent into the Human World with a purpose. That they were given life with the _purpose_ of coming to our world and joining humankind."

Masaru's eyes widened when he heard those words. He instantly thought back to his last encounter with Yggdrasil, and how the digital world's god told him that he'd watch and see what digimon and humans would end up doing. But Yggdrasil had also said that it would pull itself _away_ from involvement... To do something like what Professor Noguchi was saying... it seemed so contradictory.

... Unless Yggdrasil knew something they didn't. And Masaru knew that was very likely.

"This all sounds good in theory," said Hongo, "but what proof do you have that these actions are the work of Yggdrasil? What justification do you offer for it to be thinking this way?"

"If I may speak," said Satsuma, standing up. "Chief Hongo, we can never know for sure without direct contact with Yggdrasil itself. However, the reasons why this has occurred are less important than _when_. The fact that this occurred before an act of massive upheaval like the incident several days ago cannot be taken lightly."

"Please clarify," said representative Akashi, speaking finally, "the exact nature of this 'upheaval.'"

Satsuma frowned. "Very well," he said. "The incident here in Yokohama with KaiserGreymon was not the only incursion. DATS Global has confirmed that multiple Digital Gates appeared worldwide, and that the dimensional border between worlds is in a state of disruption. Professor Noguchi, who is, along with his wife, _also_ an expert in researching these gates, has confirmed that the disruption is so intense that travel through the border would be dangerous for anyone, be they digimon _or_ human."

"It is the evidence of our research," said Noguchi, following up on Satsuma's words, "that the Gates are what triggered this, and that they themselves were caused by the mass detonation of weapons called space-time-oscillation bombs."

Hongo shot up out of his seat. "Those devices were created by Kurata Akihiro. Just what are you playing at, by saying such things!?"

Satsuma narrowed his eyes. "What we are saying, Chief Hongo, is the truth. What that truth means, however, is unknown to us."

Before Hongo could reply, Nagano spoke up. "The Japanese government has had no involvement with the Digital World," she said, "and we have certainly not made any efforts to follow in Professor Kurata's footsteps."

"Nor has the United States," said Ellis.

"And the U.N. has made sure that no other government has sponsored such action, either," followed Akashi.

"Then the evidence points to an unknown party," said Satsuma. "And what's more, the testimonies of Kudamon, the of digimon of DATS Japan, and our own agent, Daimon Masaru, have confirmed that a space-time oscillation bomb was used. Furthermore, they have also told of us of a conflict between the great powers of the Digital World, and DATS Global has confirmed that a large number of digimon were brought to this world by the opening of the Gates. The timing of these events cannot be denied! There is something large at work here, and all of these events _must_ be related."

"Minister," said Hongo, looking exasperated, "how much of this man's word can we take seriously? All of the evidence they have brought forth comes from people who are loyal to him, and from creatures that exist outside of our laws. DATS has always had too much of an opportunity to work outside of the law, and for the past several years, have been acting without proper jurisdiction on Japanese soil!"

Nagano stood up. "What Chief Hongo has said is true, to a degree," she said. "You at DATS have investigated matters involving the Digital World for several years now, while the organization has claimed to have disbanded its Japanese branch. I understand, however, that there are reasons for this."

"There are, Minister."

Masaru's head snapped towards Yushima, who had risen from his seat and was now standing. "As you know, I was the chief officer of DATS, here in Japan. After we disbanded, and the new appearances began, I approached Satsuma and our agents, claiming that we had proper authorization. All of the actions that we have taken... are due to my overzealousness. I believed that we were facing a matter that required secrecy, and that after all that had occurred, we needed freedom to work at our own course."

Masaru looked at Yoshino, who looked positively shocked at what Yushima was saying. Masaru felt an uneasy feeling in his stomach, and couldn't help but wonder if the old man was taking the fall for something a _group_ had done.

"You see? We have an actual _admission_ of wrongdoing!" said Hongo, who was now sitting down along with the Minister. "Minister, with all due respect, we should launch an investigation, and take all of these digimon into custody, before these people have a chance to act against us!

Nagano turned towards Hongo, and frowned. "... Chief Hongo, I believe that you are too strongly influenced by the policies of your predecessor, and the words of Kurata Akihiro."

Hongo gaped, and Nagano continued. "Yushima-san. DATS has informed us that you have been removed from your position, in response to the Prime Minister's request to DATS," she said. "However, judging by the evidence submitted here today, and what was given to us prior to these proceedings, we know that we cannot judge the entire organization based on the actions of one man. DATS has proven itself to work in the interests of the greater good. And frankly, we are now faced with a situation that only DATS can deal with."

"The United States is in agreement," replied Ellis. "We have already had a digimon incident on our own soil, and we are aware that Japan has always been a focal point for these events. DATS has always been imperative to keeping these situations under control, and in my opinion, they are needed now more than ever."

Akashi also nodded. "The U.N. will support this as well, in the interest of not allowing this to negatively affect world stability."

Hongo looked absolutely defeated. Nagano, meanwhile, spoke up once again. "Satsuma-san. We understand that DATS has elected you to replace Yushima-san, should the organization be reformed here. The Japanese government will allow both of those things to occur. However, DATS will now be under the authority of both the Confidentiality _and_ Defense Ministry, and since there is no longer a precedent towards keeping Digimon secret, you will have the backing of the Japanese Ground Defense Force. It is our decision that Major Nakamono Kentarou be your direct liason."

Masaru's mouth fell open, and he looked down the row at the major. Nakamono was sitting a bit stiffly, as his wife and daughter whispered congratulations to him.

He looked back at Satsuma, who began to speak. "I understand," he said. "I have already selected Daimon Suguru to replace me as the tactical leader of our group here. In addition, a number of people here today have requested a chance to join our organization."

"That is understood," said Nagano, "as is DATS' wishes to expand their operation here. We support this decision, but with the provision that several limitations be put on DATS' policies."

"That is, of course, acceptable, Minister."

Nagano's lips curled into a smile, while Hongo looked as though he was doing his best not to speak out of turn. The Minister then rose again, and announced, "Then, I am pleased to state that the Digital Accident Tactics Squad is now officially re-instated here in Japan."

-- --

"This is such a load of bullcrap!" Masaru said as he, Yoshino, Touma, and their partners walked out of the meeting hall. Luckily for them, Yoshino and Touma had led Masaru out one of the back entrances, so no one could see the young man's reaction

"Well, I'll commend you for actually holding your tongue in there," said Touma. "For once."

Masaru growled, and slammed a fist into his palm. "They just completely railroaded old man Yushima in there! After everything he's done for DATS and the world, they just fire him like that!? And then there's the Captain... and _Dad_."

Touma sighed at his friend in exasperation. "Masaru, listen. We're dealing with politicians here. Nothing can _ever_ be completely clear cut when politics are concerned. One does have to consider the fact that, from their perspective,anyone acting without approval in a situation like this comes across as not respecting or caring about their authority."

Masaru glared at Touma, and then immediately spun around and looked at Yoshino. When he saw her expression, which was withdrawn, saddened, and looking very much like she wanted to do anything but talk at that moment, he stopped short. Masaru ran a hand through his hair, and then cocked his head to one side. "It wasn't just him doing this, was it?" he asked her.

Yoshino let out a sigh of her own, prompting Lalamon to lay a stubby arm on her shoulder. "Yoshino?"

"No," Yoshino murmured. "No, it wasn't. It was all of us... myself, him, Miki, Megumi, Captain- or, I guess, _Commander_ Satsuma now... We've been investigating things for a long time, trying to keep our work under wraps. But I never would have expected him to take the burden all on his own! I didn't know the _extent _of it – about things like Hayase-san, or anyone else who'd partnered with a digimon! Masaru, if I knew it would have come to this..."

"Unfortunately, there's not really any choice," Touma said. "If everyone of us came out and admitted what we were doing, we would all be facing dismissal, or worse."

Masaru's eyebrow shot up, and he took a sidelong glance at Touma. "'Us?'"

Touma placed a hand on his hip and smirked. "Come on now, Masaru. I may have be a well known doctor now, but you couldn't really have thought that I would stay away from things like this. I've been helping both Professor Daimon and the Noguchis whenever they've asked for my help with their own research. And with Ikuto's help, I've been compiling a database of various facts about the Digital World's culture. I did know about the Digital Gates, as well, though a lot of the specifics were unknown to me till today."

"_I_ wasn't told anything about them," Yoshino noted. "They had me looking into the Confidentiality Ministry's old dealings with Kurata, and what current investigations were going on."

"And I didn't hear anything about _that_," Touma replied.

Yoshino blinked several times. "But why would they be so secretive?"

"Simple," the blond man replied. "Putting all of that responsibility on us would make it easier for someone else to come along and knock down the whole group. If we didn't know the whole story, they'd have less to catch us on and connect back to Yushima and Satsuma."

"Ah, smart as a whip, as always, Touma."

The humans and their digimon all spun around, and found Yushima and Kamemon standing at the door they had exited. The old man grinned at them, and then held up a finger to his lips, speaking quietly. "However, talking about such things with so many politicians in the building _isn't_ the wisest course of action."

"Old Man!" Masaru exclaimed. "You... I mean, how come..."

Yushima gave him a mild laugh. "It really does warm my heart you all are so concerned about this, but everything is all right. Really. Satsuma, Suguru, and I decided this a long time ago... or, at least, _I_ decided, on my end of things. Because, as I'm sure you all can very well guess, each of those men wanted to take the fall _themselves_. Touma pretty much hit the nail on the head, though... only I really knew what was going on the whole time. Suguru and Satsuma only received the full picture within the last few days"

Yushima's eyes fell on Touma. "Besides, there were other reasons... if we had let you know more than you did, _sooner_ than you did, it wouldn't have been fair. Not to you, your sister, or all the people in the world that you've helped. Without anything conclusive, there wasn't any need to distract you from doing what the world needed you to do." He turned to Yoshino. "And it's not for a lack of trust, either. Everything you've done, since you joined DATS all those years ago, has been invaluable to us, Yoshino. We knew you'd be capable, but we didn't want to just lay the burden on you, because we knew you'd be too ready to accept it."

Yoshino frowned. "You mean like you did?"

Yushima laughed again. "Oh, I'm just an old man with his whole life behind him. That's a big difference, Yoshino. What if Ikuto-kun had known? Would he have been able to focus as well on building his life in this world, knowing everything? Even if he did know, he wouldn't have been any closer to Falcomon than he is now, but..."

"... He would fixate on it, and let him it weigh him down," Gaomon said.

"... I think we can all identify with that," said Yoshino, glancing at Lalamon.

"It's just... it doesn't seem right," Masaru grumbled.

Yushima walked over, and put a hand on Masaru's shoulder. "I told you already, Masaru. Everything is fine. This was my decision. Besides... you have to understand. There was no easy way out of this... technically, we all stepped outside the law. With me as a scapegoat, Nagano and the government are looking the other way because they realize they _need _DATS. Sometimes... we need to step aside for the greater good. To make a sacrifice."

Masaru stared at Yushima, his mouth hanging open. Then... he shut it closed, and nodded quietly.

Yushima smiled. "Well, with that said and done, I think that Commander Satsuma and Captain Daimon are waiting for you in the command room. Remember, everyone... what was done in the past doesn't matter here today. All that's left now is the future."

"But, what about you?" Agumon asked, looking back and forth between Yushima and Kamemon. "What are you two going to do?"

Yushima gave him a smile, and then turned. He motioned for Kamemon to follow him before starting to walk down the hallway. "I think that Kamemon and I will go fishing."

Masaru watched them walk off, staring a bit forlornly. Touma sighed, and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Come on, Masaru. Your father and Satsuma are waiting for us."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." Masaru said, though he didn't move until he saw Yushima and Kamemon turn the corner.

At that, he sighed. "I'm comin'..."

-- --

About six minutes later, Masaru and the others entered the main command room of DATS Headquarters. Once there, he immediately found himself greeted with a chipper shout of, "Hi, Masaru-niichan!"

Masaru's eyes darted around the room. Sitting on the counter next to one of the computer stations was Chika, Piyomon at her side, with Ikuto sitting in a chair next to both of them. Suguru, Leormon, Satsuma, Kudamon, Sayuri, and the elder Noguchis were gathered around what was once Satsuma's command station, while Miki, Megumi, and both of the PawnChessmon were busy checking out their old stations near the Digital Dive.

Masaru frowned, and he fixated, at last, on the fact that his sister was wearing a uniform that was identical to the one Yoshino had once wore, only colored red rather than pink. When he'd seen her wearing it in the meeting, it hadn't registered, but now, he couldn't help himself from blurting out, "Just what do you think you're doing doing wearing that!?" This caused Yoshino and Lalamon to both let out sighs, while Touma simply shook his head.

Chika rolled her eyes, and jumped down to the floor, giving her older brother a mock salute. "Agent Daimon Chika of DATS, reporting for duty, sir!"

Masaru sputtered and stared, and spun to look at Suguru. "Dad! You cannot _seriously_ be letting her join!"

Before Suguru could reply to him, Chika shouted back at him across the room. "Oh, c'mon, Masaru-niichan! I'm older than _you_ were when you joined DATS!"

Masaru stared at her, eyes widened. In the three days he'd been back, that fact about his sister hadn't even hit him until now. She was sixteen, just starting high school, while Masaru had left for the Digital World when he was fourteen. He never even _went_ to High School. He blinked a bit, and then looked away. "Yeah, but, I mean, you're..."

To his surprise, he suddenly found Yoshino stepping in front of him and waving a finger in his face. "Daimon Masaru, I swear, if you _dare_ say 'because you're a girl,' _I'm_ going to knock you through the wall. Understood?"

Masaru's jaw dropped a little bit. He had been hit and threatened by many things, but never a female, let alone Yoshino. What was more, he was suddenly very sure that Yoshino actually _would_ do what she said.

"Um, n-no," Masaru said, scratching his chin and looking away absently. "I'd never say anything like that!Just what kind of guy do you think I am...?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Yoshino asked, balling her hand into a fist.

"Masaru," Suguru spoke, drawing their attention back to him. "Chika and I already discussed this a few days ago. You did a great job being the man of the house when I was gone, and you did everything you could to protect your mother and sister... but things are different now. And I've already gotten a man's word that she'll be protected, no matter what. And after what Chika and Piyomon both accomplished the other day, I have no doubt in my mind that this will be the case."

Masaru started to look back towards his sister, only to notice instead the fierce looks on both Piyomon and Ikuto's faces. Knowing he couldn't win, Masaru rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "Yeesh. All these changes are starting to give me a damn headache. But fine... I mean, you're _my _sister, after all."

Everyone laughed at those words, which caused Masaru to sigh irritatedly. "You sure haven't changed one bit, have you, Masaru?" said Miki, from over where she was sitting.

Masaru looked up, and looked over at where she and the other operator was now sitting. "Oh... hey, Miki. Megumi."

"Hey yourself," said Megumi, laughing a bit. "So, Masaru, you're not going to make a case about us coming back too, are you? I mean, we're both women, and all..."

Masaru shot the blonde woman a look, though he knew she wasn't serious. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "Enough already." Then he crossed his arms. "So, where were the two of you the other night when everybody came back?"

"They were covering for me," Satsuma answered for them. "When the Digital Gate appeared, the Confidentiality Ministry sought us for questioning. Kurosaki and Shirakawa both helped give me the opportunity to get back here and join the battle against KaiserGreymon."

Masaru leaned up against the command station's desk. "I see," he said. Then, he took another look at his father's uniform. "... You know dad, this is gonna be weird. But..."

"But?" Suguru asked.

Masaru smirked, glancing at Agumon, who grinned back at him. He then eyed his father, keeping that expression. "If all this stuff really _is_ necessary, and someone has to replace Satsuma... I don't think I know anyone better for the job."

Suguru shot a similar look back to him. "That means a lot to me, son."

Just then, the doors leading into the command center slid open. In walked Nakamono, followed closely by his daughter,Yuriko, who was carrying her partner digimon along with her. Following them was Hayase and KoKabuterimon, as well as Kouichiro and Plotmon.

Masaru pushed himself off the desk, and stepped in front of Nakamono, blocking him from walking further. The major seemed unsurprised by the action. "Hello, Daimon Masaru," Nakamono said flatly.

Masaru narrowed his eyes, and spoke, saying "So, Major, we're gonna be working together from now on, aren't we?"

"It seems that we will," Nakamono replied, looking completely unsurprised by the young man's actions. Masaru crossed his arms, and stared at the man for a moment, before doing something that _did _surprise him.

He held out his hand to Nakamono.

"You helped my family and friends get away when we were fighting KaiserGreymon," Masaru said, giving the major a sincere-looking smile. "Thanks."

Nakamono blinked several times... and then took Masaru's hand and shook it, looking somewhat shocked. "...You're welcome," he said. "You know, you're a strange one, Daimon."

Masaru let out a short laugh. "Lets just say," he said, giving a quick look to Nakamono's daughter, "That I think I have a better understanding of what sort of man you are, now."

Nakamono actually managed a small, though brief, smile as he released Masaru's hand and nodded. "The same here, kid." He looked around the room. "That said, I'm not the only one that will be joining you..."

The older man's daughter suddenly stepped forward, bowing excitedly. "It'll be an honor to work with all of you!" she exclaimed, and then smiled up at Masaru brightly. "Daddy's already told me about everything you and the others did the other day, Daimon-san!"

Masaru gave the girl a wide-eyed stare, and Nakamono coughed loudly into his hand. "Yes, as I was saying... My daughter Yuriko is going to be joining the support staff here at DATS. I believe that Shirokawa-san and Kurosaki-san will be overseeing her training..."

"Chicchimon will be joining you too!" Yuriko said happily, which was followed by her partner chirping loudly at the mention of his name. "...Though, he doesn't talk very much yet."

"Meanwhile," Nakamono continued, indicating Hayase, Kouichiro, and their partners, "these men will be joining you as field agents. There are others, but these two in particular requested to see you all in person."

Touma eyed both of the men. "Are you two sure about that? It's not something to be taken lightly."

Hayase held up a tightly clenched fist. "I'm more certain about this than I have been about anything in a long, long time. Besides, I owe you all a debt we may never be able to repay, for saving my daughter that time. If I can make up for even a little bit of that, it'll be worth it."

Kouichiro nodded, looking to Masaru. "And Masaru saved both mine and my father's lives, Masaru. It'd be bad of me if I couldn't try to live up to that, if only a bit."

"I will be proud to fight alongside you!" proclaimed KoKabuterimon, thrusting out his arm and pointing... though at no one in particular. "That is, if you all show Hayase-senshu the proper respect!"

Touma gave a laugh, almost to himself, and scratched the back of his head. "I don't think I'll have any problem with that..."

"If I may have all of your attention," said Satsuma's voice, causing everyone to turn towards him and Suguru. "In addition to our expanded ranks, there will be changes in how DATS operates. We're being watched closer than we ever have been before. And it won't just be being watched by the government, but the entire _world._ You might think that no longer having to keep digimon a secret will make our jobs easier, but the fact of the matter is..."

"...It'll actually be the exact opposite," Suguru continued. "With the general public knowing about the existence of digimon, it creates a whole new set of problems that _we_ have to contend with. But at the same time, I'm sure each and every one of you has some idea what we have to deal with."

"Of course, Captain Daimon. And before we can really begin, we have a lot of work to do," said Yoshino.

"Yes, but now that we're all together again, we can do it!"exclaimed Lalamon.

Gaomon nodded in agreement. "Indeed. And now that we're no longer hiding, we can show humanity a different side of digimon, and that we aren't to be feared..."

"And in turn, we can attempt the same for any digimon here in the Human World," added Touma.

"Well then!" Suguru shouted, slapping a hand down on his desk. "If Commander Satsuma doesn't mind, I'd like to give my first order."

Satsuma smiled. "Be my guest."

Suguru grinned, looking around the room, as everyone now stood at attention. "It is DATS' mission to maintain harmony between both worlds, and deal with digimon-based crimes, but that is only its immediate goal. Our ultimate goal is..." He looked to his son and his partner. "Masaru? Agumon?"

"To create a world where both digimon and humans can live together in peace!" both of them shouted in unison, throwing their hands into the air.

"Exactly," said Suguru, nodding. "To that end, my first order... Is for everyone here to erase the sins of the past, and look to the future! Together, we'll make that world a reality!"

Each veteran member of DATS, save for Satsuma and Kudamon, immediately snapped to attention and saluted him. "_Yes sir!_" they exclaimed.

Nakamono blinked, and as soon as everyone was at ease, he looked over at Masaru. "So, that's your father, huh?"

"You bet he is!" Masaru replied, grinning as widely as he possibly could.

Nakamono sighed, amused. "Well, that explains a thing or two..."

"It does, doesn't it?" Yoshino replied, though her expression matched Masaru's. Masaru shot her a look of annoyance... and then laughed out loud. Yoshino blinked, and then after a moment, laughed herself and smirked back at him.

Soon, everyone fell into their own rhythm. Touma began to converse with Hayase, while Gaomon introduced himself to KoKabuterimon. Yuriko introduced herself to Ikuto and Chika, and she seemed to make fast friends with the other girl while Chicchimon flew out of its partner's arms and circled excitedly around Piyomon's head. Miki and Megumi watched, smiling cheerfully, until Yoshino and Lalamon came over and began to talk with them. Nakamono watched his daughter with a mixture of pride and worry, while Kouichiro and Plotmon introduced themselves to Suguru and Sayuri. Finally, there was Gotsumon, buzzing about from person to person, trying to get himself noticed.

Masaru couldn't help but watch this all with a bit of fondness. He looked over at Agumon, who grinned back at him. Without saying a word, they knew what the other was thinking. Even though neither of them would ever want to undo the decision they'd made five years ago, they both couldn't help feeling good about being back at DATS.

This was where they'd both began, and together, they'd somehow made it back.

-- --

Some hours later, Touma and Gaomon had both left DATS in the former's limo, which his butler Gunter was currently driving home. Gaomon was sitting next to Touma in the rear of the vehicle, looking relaxed as his partner talked on his cellphone, dealing with a particularly important international call.

"It was on all of the major news channels?" said Touma, smiling fondly. "I see, Relena. Did Father have anything to say about it?"

"_He did,"_ said Relena's voice, on the other end. _"The press here in Austria made a big deal about how the famous Dr. Norstein was going to be working with DATS. Father thought it was ridiculous how much they were focusing on you, when more attention should have been on other things, but he was definitely proud."_

Touma actually chuckled a bit. "I see. And did I hear right? Father's going to be making a donation to DATS' branch in Europe?"

"_He is. He also said that he wanted to see you, Touma... But I imagine you won't have much time to make international flights for a while."_

"Actually," said Touma, "as soon as I'm done contributing to a project here, Commander Satsuma requested that I help the new commander there with an important matter." He paused for a minute. "Speaking of international flights, how was yours? I'm sorry Father wanted you back in Austria after that whole mess several days ago..."

"_Brother,"_ he heard Relena sigh. _"I'm fine. You know you don't have to worry about me all the time anymore, right? Besides, that's what fathers do, they worry."_

"So do big brothers," Touma replied with a sigh of his own. "Okay, Relena, I understand."

"_Thank you, Brother,"_ said Relena's voice, pleasantly. _"Oh, by the way... how is Gaomon?"_

"He's fine," said Touma. "From what I hear, he's been through a lot, the last few years. He and the others are just fine, though. And you should see some of the new digimon that have joined DATS... you won't believe it, but one of them is partnered to Hayase Tsubasa! The digimon has a rather... extreme personality, however..."

"_Hayase Tsubasa? The boxer you were such a big fan of when you were younger?"_ he heard Relena giggle. _"Ah! Uhm, what about that rocky little one that doesn't have a partner? The one named Gotsumon? What's going to happen to him?"_

Touma blinked, surprised that his sister would ask about that. "Well, like you said, he doesn't have a partner," he replied. "It'd be dangerous to have him out in the open among people... He could be negatively influenced, you see, like the digimon we had to deal with five years ago. But we've given him a place at headquarters, so he should be safe there..."

"_I see. That seems a little lonely, but if it's for the best..."_

After that, the two of them began winding down their conversation. After wishing each other the best, and Touma asking Relena to tell their father the same, the young man ended his call. He sighed, and put his phone back into his vest pocket before turning back to Gaomon. "Relena hopes you're alright," he said to his partner.

"That's nice of her," Gaomon replied, pleasantly. Then, he smiled wryly at Touma. "So... _Doctor_ Norstein. You won a Nobel Prize in Medicine? I'm very proud of you, Master."

Touma blinked, and then returned his partner's smile. "Thank you Gaomon. ... And you haven't done so bad for yourself, I hear. Kudamon told me you were working directly with the Royal Knights. I just hope you don't count Yggdrasil or Omegamon as your new master."

Gaomon held back a chuckle. "Well, Omegamon wanted to officially induct me as a member, but I told him there was only one person I could truly serve. And I'm very glad to be back with that man, now that I'm here in the Human World again."

Touma nodded. "And that man is glad to have you back," he replied. Then, he looked up, as the window separating him and Gaomon from Gunter began to lower. "What is it, Gunter?" he asked.

"We've almost at your your home, Master Touma," said the aged servant. This caused Gaomon to look up in surprise. Touma thanked Gunter, and looked over at his partner, noting the beast digimon's expression. "What's the matter, Gaomon?"

"Master... this isn't..." he said, looking out the nearest window. "I mean, this isn't the way to..."

Gaomon's voice trailed off, as he looked out the window on his side of the vehicle. He hadn't noticed it till now, but this wasn't the route that led to Touma's family estate. Rather, it was in one of Yokohama's more typical residential areas.

"Yes, well, I've decided to live somewhere else when I'm in Japan," said Touma, smiling as he looked out the window with Gaomon. As the car slowed in preparation to park, he caught a glimpse of two individuals walking down the street in the opposite direction, both of them wearing long black coats and with their hoods drawn over their heads. For a moment, Touma remarked how strange this was, considering that it was summer, and that one of the two seemed unusually short.

The car came to a stop, and Gunter got out of the vehicle in order to open the door for them. Gaomon stepped out of the vehicle, looking at the building they'd parked in front of. Then, slowly, realization dawned on his face, and his jaw fell open.

"Master..." Gaomon breathed. "This is the house you... you grew up in, isn't it? The one you lived in before..."

"My mother's house," replied Touma, smiling down at Gaomon. "To be honest, Gaomon, I don't really need so much room, and I can get along without any servants besides Gunter to help me. Besides... I always wanted to come back here."

Gaomon stared at him for a moment, and then smiled back at him. The two nodded to one another, and prepared to enter the building... only to stop when they noticed something sitting in front of the door. Gaomon ran forward a bit, and picked it up, holding up a white and yellow flower, along with a neatly folded piece of paper.

Touma stared at the flower as he took it from Gaomon. "... A white water lily?" he asked, wondering how an aquatic plant that was usually found in Europe had ended up at his front door. Then his eyes widened as he remembered another name for the plant, and he he grabbed the paper away from Gaomon.

"Lotus..." Touma whispered, unfolding the paper. Then, his eyes widened again, as he read what was written on it:

"_Our game begins again, beloved. Look forward to seeing you soon."_

Touma's eyes darted in various directions, as he began to look around. His mind instantly drifted to the two people he'd seen walking down the street, and he looked frantically to try and catch a glimpse of them again. As he tried to recall what they looked like, he thought again of how short one of them was. What was more, he became convinced he'd seen one of them with a lock of blonde hair.

"... Master?" said Gaomon, touching Touma's arm. "Master, what's wrong?"

Touma frowned. "I'm not sure, Gaomon. But let's get inside... I'm suddenly uncomfortable out here."

-- --

"...and I want to hear about _everything_ you've been up to all this time, Yoshino!"

Yoshino smiled happily to herself as she and Lalamon rode up her apartment building's elevator. The little plant digimon had been rambling on endlessly since the two of them had left DATS, and the woman was perfectly content to listen to everything without complaint. This was mainly because of how much she missed just hearing the sound of her best friend's voice.

"It hasn't been that interesting," said Yoshino, as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. "Aside from my investigations, that is, but you already know about those. Being a traffic cop in a town where most people don't own a _car_ isn't exactly the most exciting job in the world."

Lalamon sighed as she bobbed in the air alongside Yoshino while the two of them headed down the hallway. "I don't want to know about all that, I want to know about _you!_"

"It's not like I'm a different person these days, Lalamon," Yoshino said, pulling out her keys once they reached her apartment. "I am who I am. I still live in the same apartment, and I just traded one law enforcement job for another."

"But, but...! C'mon!" Lalamon insisted. "You can't tell me, in five years, nothing interesting has happened!"

"Compared to what we went through before you left?" Yoshino asked, starting to go through her many keys.

"Well, I dunno... what about boyfriends?"

In response, Yoshino suddenly fumbled with her keys and dropped them on the floor. Then, laughing to herself, she stooped down to pick them up. "Lalamon... when was the last time you remember me going on a date?"

"Well-"

"That _wasn't_ me being undercover," Yoshino interrupted, finally finding the right key.

Lalamon blinked her round, black eyes several times. "Um... but, it's been five years!"

"I've been busy," Yoshino said. "Too busy." She sighed as she unlocked the door. "In fact, I always seem to be..."

The young woman stepped into her apartment and turned on the light... only to pause and look back as she noticed Lalamon hadn't followed her inside. "Lalamon? Is something wrong?"

"It... it..." Lalamon stammered, staring blankly into the small, single bedroom apartment. "_It's CLEAN!_"

Yoshino scowled as Lalamon darted inside, looking around rapidly. "And just what is that supposed to mean!?" the woman asked, sounding offended.

"There's... there's no weeks worth of clothes piled up on the floor!" the digimon exclaimed. She looked over and pointed at the small kitchen area on the other side of the room. "The sink isn't piled up with dirty dishes! Everything... everything's neat and organized!" She spun around, staring at her partner in shock. "Just who are you, and what have you done with my Yoshino!?"

Slowly and silently, Yoshino began to shut the door... and then doubled over laughing once it was closed. Lalamon stopped dead in the air, looking confused. "What's so funny?"

Yoshino looked back up at her, wiping a tear from her eye. "Oh... wow. If I'd known you'd react like that, I would have done it a long time _before_ you left for the Digital World." She took a deep breath, composed herself, and straighted back up. "Lalamon... really. I knew when you left that I had to fend for myself. I couldn't just do things knowing I had someone behind me all the time to help me out. Maybe that's why I've focused so much on my work, but I knew for the first time I was really on my own. And yet, with everything you helped teach me, that didn't seem as overwhelming as it might have been before. I had learned how to do things to make myself a better person... And yes, learning to do the laundry regularly was at the top of the list."

"But you weren't ever alone!" Lalamon said. "You still had friends... and our bond never died! I could still feel your Digi-Soul growing stronger every day, even from another world!"

Yoshino grinned, and found herself wiping away another tear from her eye, though it wasn't from laughter this time. "I know, Lalamon... but even if I had friends, I was still missing my best one... and I... I'm glad you're back."

Lalamon giggled, floating over closer to her partner. "So am I. And I don't plan on leaving anytime soon."

-- --

"Dammit to hell, Agumon! _That's my fried egg!_"

"Not if I eat it first, Aniki!"

Chika watched, her jaw agape, as Agumon and Masaru dueled each other with their chopsticks over the last remaining piece of their meal. Sitting at the table with the three of them was Piyomon and Leormon, as Sayuri prepared more food over in the kitchen. Suguru was still back at DATS, having long since made everyone, including his partner, go home to eat and rest, saying he'd probably be dealing with official matters well into the evening.

"Now, now, you two!" Sayuri said happily. "There's plenty more where that came from!"

"It's a matter of principal!" Masaru said, growling at his digimon partner. "You know Agumon, it's not my fault that you lose your sense of loyalty whenever you want to stuff something in your mouth!"

"A man can't properly fight on an empty stomach!" Agumon growled back. "Besides, you know how seriously I take fried eggs, Aniki!"

"I guess some things really _don't_ change," Chika mumbled.

Piyomon gawked at her. "You mean they've always been like this!?"

"Now see here-!" Masaru began, but was cut off by a yell.

"_Will you two shut up!?_"

Both Masaru and Agumon's eyes widened, and both looked at Leormon, looks of utter amazement written on their faces. This moment passed quickly for Masaru, and he pointed his chopsticks angrily at the lion. "Hey, just who d'you think you're talking to, Leormon!?"

Leormon flashed a wide and toothy grin at Masaru. "Well, you see Masaru, I realized something today!"

"Oh? What's that" Masaru asked, his voice deadpan. Taking advantage of the opening he'd been provided, Agumon quickly swiped the last fried egg and tossed it in his mouth, prompting Masaru to shout, "Hey!"

"Well," Leormon began, "not only am I not Agumon's subordinate anymore, but now, as Suguru's partner, I outrank _both_ of you!"

Both Chika and Piyomon erupted into laughter, while Masaru just glared at Leormon. After a moment, though, he laid his chopsticks down and made a small sigh, smiling to himself. For just a moment, though he still didn't appreciate being talked down to, he had heard an unmistakably commanding tone in Leormon's voice. And for that moment, he'd been reminded of a voice he hadn't heard in a very long time.

Before he could dwell on it for very long, they heard a loud knock on the door. Pushing himself away from the table, Masaru stood up. "I'll get it. C'mon, Agumon."

"But-!" Agumon started, pointing to where Sayuri was still preparing more food.

Masaru grabbed the lizard's claw and dragged him away from the table. "I said come _on._ It'll still be there when you get back. No one can eat as much as you can, anyway."

When he opened the door, Masaru was surprised to find Ikuto standing there with a rather severe-looking expression on his face. The older man raised an eyebrow. "Oh, hey, Ikuto. Chika's in the kitch-"

"Actually, I need to talk to you, Masaru," interrupted Ikuto. "... If that's alright, that is."

Masaru and Agumon exchanged brief glances before they both stepped outside, with Agumon shutting the door behind them. "Alright. Go ahead," Masaru said. "What's up?"

"It's... it's not about Falcomon, if that's what you're wondering," Ikuto replied. "I believe what you said, and I have faith in him... I know he'll find some way to make it back here safely. But I've been thinking about something else, too. The battle you all fought the other day... it started in the Digital World, right?"

Masaru nodded, getting an idea of where this was headed. "Yeah. Yeah, it was."

"And the digimon you were fighting... They weren't the only ones you'd been battling, were they?"

Masaru crossed his arms and frowned. "You mean other than Agnimon, Vritramon, and their flunkies? ...They were getting orders from their boss, Apollomon, and there was another one-"

Ikuto's eyes widened, but somehow, he didn't look exactly surprised. "Dianamon?"

Masaru nodded, solemnly. "Yeah, that was her name. Falcomon told me that you two knew these 'Twelve Gods of Olympus' guys. And that Mercurimon was one of them."

Ikuto looked away, a mixture of sadness and anger in his expression. "Yeah, we did. And he was," replied the boy, swallowing hard. "What were they doing?"

Masaru grimaced, and closed his eyes. He had already told this story to his father and Satsuma, but they weren't as close to the situation. They didn't really have as much of a personal stake in what the Olympus Gods might have done. The only reason Masaru hadn't said anything to Ikuto about it yet was because he figured the boy was still reeling from the fact Falcomon was trapped back in the Digital World. And, as much as he hated to admit it, he was a bit afraid of seeing the boy's reaction.

So, he was somewhat surprised when Agumon answered Ikuto for him.

"They took over the Zanzaga Forest," the small dinosaur said. "They forced most of the digimon out of the area, and took everyone else captive. The Royal Knights showed up to help, and we were able to get most of them to safety except for..."

As Agumon's voice trailed off, Masaru looked at Ikuto straight in the eye. "They demanded that their captives follow their leadership. Jureimon stood up to him, and Apollomon... Apollomon killed him."

Ikuto's arms shook as he clenched his hands into fists, but he otherwise maintained a hardened expression. "I... I see..."

"None of us understood what they meant by it," said Masaru.

"Yeah, from everything Falcomon told us, this isn't like them, is it?" Agumon asked, causing Ikuto to shake his head fiercely.

"Never!" he replied. "I met the warriors of the Light Fang! Apollomon's soldiers used to pride themselves as being noble, proud fighters! And Apollomon especially! In a way..." His body seemed to relax slightly, and he smiled sadly. "In a way, Apollomon's ideals used to be a lot like _yours_, Masaru. But after seeing Agnimon and Vritramon, and what you told me just now..." His smile faded, and he frowned again. "But wait, if you were fighting with them when the Digital Gate appeared..."

"Yeah, that's sort of the problem," said Masaru. "We don't know what happened to either of them. Same goes for Dukemon and UlForceV-Dramon. When we were falling through the Gate, they were swept off somewhere. Dad figures they probably came out of another Gate and ended up in our world somewhere..."

Masaru didn't want to finish, and left the sentence hanging. He knew very well that if four Ultimate level digimon, much less two Royal Knights, fell down into the Human World somewhere, _someone_ would have noticed them over the past three days. But he hadn't heard anything.

"What did they say?" Ikuto asked. "Exactly."

Masaru blinked a bit. "What do you mean?"

"Did Apollomon or Dianamon try to justify what they were doing, in any way?" the teenager replied.

Masaru thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Apollomon said... that they were the world's new protectors. He also said that the Digital World was being... 'poisoned' by humans and the Royal Knights. He said that they'd use force to change all that."

Ikuto's eyes went wide for the briefest of seconds before narrowing tightly. "Marsmon."

Masaru and Agumon both looked at each other with equal confusion. "Marsmon?" they chorused.

"If I'm right... and if I remember everything about him correctly... then it all has to be because of Marsmon," Ikuto responded. "He's one of the other last remaining members of the Olympus Gods."

"But what makes you think..."

"One time, when I was young, Marsmon arrived in the forest, demanding to speak with Mercurimon," Ikuto said, looking to the side "They got into an argument, and Marsmon called me a 'poison' that would ruin Mercurimon. All this time, I thought he was just like Gotsumon, or SaberLeomon, but..."

It took a moment for the meaning of that to sink in, and Masaru and Agumon shot one another concerned glances as they both seemed to realize what Ikuto meant. "So, then you think that Marsmon is the one convincing the Olympus Twelve to do all this?"

"I'd put my bets on it," Ikuto said, scowling. "And what I know about him fits with everything else you said. He's always distrusted the Royal Knights, and thought that we should weed out the weaker elements of the Digital World. I think, after all the disasters the Digital World has seen, he's finally been able to convince the other Gods of Olympus that he was right."

"Others, huh?" asked Masaru. "Were there any besides him and Apollomon and Dianamon? I mean, we need to know what we're up against."

Ikuto paused for a moment, but then nodded, sighing. "Yes. You already know Mercurimon was a member, and besides Marsmon, Apollomon, and Dianamon... the other surviving members include Neptunmon, Minervamon, and Vulcanmon. I'm not sure what Neptunmon and Vulcanmon think, but Minervamon... she would be the last person I'd expect to follow Marsmon. But I can't really be sure about anything, anymore..."

Masaru studied Ikuto for a moment, who seemed to have gotten a bit more on edge at the mention of Minervamon. He frowned, and decided to change the subject. "Well, if Apollomon and Dianamon are in this world, Ikuto, then this isn't over. They could try to carry on what they were doing here, in the Human World."

Ikuto looked up, appearing almost angry. "And what about the Digital World?" Ikuto asked. "Marsmon is someone who considers no one to be his equal. He prides himself on his power, and doesn't consider anyone to be above him, not even Yggdrasil. In his own words, he thinks he's a _true _god. A god of power, of battle... A god of war! If he's behind all of this, then he won't stop at anything. Not even losing Apollomon and Dianamon will make him slow down! Everyone in the Digital World will be in danger!"

Masaru's eyes widened as he listened to the boy's words. Then he sighed, and placed a hand on Ikuto's shoulder. "Ikuto," he said, calmly. "I know how you feel. I spent five years in that world. And it's not just me. Dad, your parents, and everyone in DATS are going to do everything they can to stabilize the Gate so we can make it back to the Digital World."

Ikuto just frowned at him. "Do you think the government is going to care about doing something about it until it affects them?"

Masaru just smirked, and gave him a thumb's up. "Come on, now. Since when has something like that stopped us? We'll make sure that we get Falcomon back here, _and _we'll stop this whole mess with the Olympus Gods one way or another."

Ikuto could only stare at him for several long moments, before finally smiling slightly and nodding. "Yeah... th-thank you Masaru."

"Good!" Masaru said, now grinning widely. He spun Ikuto around and shoved him towards the door. "Now go say hello to Chika! Heck, help yourself to Agumon's third helping while you're at it! Not like he needs it"

"_Hey!_" Agumon growled loudly.

Ikuto looked back at the young man, his expression one of surprise. "Ma- Masaru...!"

"Go!" Masaru commanded, pointing at the door, though he was still smiling. "I'm not gonna tolerate any man whose with my sister that'd come by and not even say hello, you got me? Now get in there!"

Ikuto blinked, and then rubbed the back of his head, blushing a bit as he entered the door. "Ri-right..."

Agumon watched the boy for a few seconds as he entered the house, and then shook his head vigorously, giving chase. "My fried eggs!"

Masaru just laughed to himself, but instead of following, he turned and looked up at the sky. It was a clear night, and he could see the stars clearly, even with the city lights. It had been a long time since he had been able to look up at the stars of the Human World, and he was finding that he had somehow missed it. This sky was clear, and uncluttered with the abstract constructs of the Digital World.

Of course, neither one was better or worse than the other. Each world's sky was beautiful in its own way, he just hadn't had the chance to take the time and look at the one in the Human World for quite some time. And both worlds held their own wonders and excitement, and he had enjoyed the time he spent in the Digital World. He wouldn't trade that adventure for anything.

But, even still... it was another world. And though he counted both places as worthwhile, everything he had fought for was here now, including Agumon.

Both he _and_ Agumon had been born into the Human World. Adventures were great, and he knew that he would face many more battles and hardships in the time to come, but for the moment, he could be content with where he was. He was a fighter forever, but after spending five years learning he could live up to his father's example, he knew that for now, he didn't have to test himself.

That would come later, and soon. But for now, it was good to be home.

**-The Beginning**

**-- --**

_**Mega Sez**_**: Just keep reading everyone. There's the Epilogue right after this, and we'll cover our final Authors Notes for this installment in one big installment.**

**_Infinity Says:_ ...what he says. **


	5. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: Digimon Savers is the property of Toei Animation, Bandai, and Akiyoshi Hongo.**

Somewhere in the Human World, two digital essences were tossed through the wind of a world not their own. Both of them were the souls of digimon... two digimon that had succumbed to their hatred and wrath, and had therefore been claimed by it. They had been destroyed, but rather than revert to an egg like the rest of their kind, they had lost their chance for rebirth.

No. They were not gone forever, but their choices had doomed them to a fate _worse _than any kind of death their species could experience.

The two souls eventually reached a beach, and they were drawn to a figure that stood alone on the shore. They drifted downward, and seemed to absorb themselves into the man's very skin. He sucked in a sharp breath, and closed his eyes. For a moment, his entire being shook, and his hands clenched into fists. Then, his face took on an expression of pure agony as he grit his teeth. Fire danced behind his eyes for a moment, and then, unable to take the pain, he threw his head towards the sky and screamed into the heavens.

After the cry subsided, he fell to his knees, panting. He dug his hands into the sand, mumbling incomprehensibly. Forces were at war within him... or rather, two lives, two souls were being savagely and mercilessly absorbed into another.

"Is this... the fate that waits for me..?" Nitta Masaki gasped.

"Still not in control of yourself, are we?"

Nitta shot up, and spun around, kicking up a bit of sand. Instantly, his expression once again became cold and emotionless, as he looked at he figure that had appeared behind him. It was a thin, gaunt-looking old man, with a large nose, a bald head, and a beard, wearing a black business suit. He also held a cane. The man was also very ugly, with dry, wrinkled skin which starkly contrasted with the immaculate state of his clothes.

"For now," Nitta said, quietly. "Now, what is it that brings you here, Bar-"

"In this world, call me Barbatos," interrupted the man, his shriveled lips curling into a disgusting grin. "And I am here to discuss our business in this world. Those digimon you sent after the humans failed, Nitta. They still live..."

Nitta turned to the side, looking away from the old man. "The plan was not to kill them," he said. "With them and their leaders thinking they are victorious, their 'DATS' organization can be revived. None of those humans truly understand where their actions are leading them. It's all going according to plan. You know this, _'Barbatos.'"_

The man blinked, and then frowned. "Yes, well, I never supported that. It is too much of a risk to our ventures here... But if that is what we seven have decided as a group, then very well. We will continue that course. What are you to do now?"

"I will wait," replied Nitta. "Until we are called on again, by either our brethren, or by the human who has allied himself with us. And what about you?"

Barbatos paused for a moment, and grinned once again. "I believe I will investigate the other nations of this world... and see if I cannot find a way to sow the seeds of avarice from within. If we are to drag DATS down to our level, then we must plant the seed of corruption from within."

Nitta did not hesitate in answering. "Then do what you must. As long as you do not interfere in what we have set in motion."

With that, the younger-looking of the two men started to walk off. Barbatos watched him for a few moments, as he walked across the shoreline. Then he shook his head. "... Still too human, that one," he growled to himself. "He may be a problem... and if the others cannot see that, then... well. It shall fall to me."

He tapped his cane against a rock, and then set off himself, heading in the opposite direction from Nitta.

-- --

Hongo Naoyuki was not a happy man. He had found all of his words of warning ignored by his superiors, and he'd had to watch as Minister Nagano Wakana had handed power back to people who, in his mind, clearly intended to misuse it. But that wasn't what he hated most of all.

What he hated most were the methods that he was being forced to employ, now that those decisions had been made.

He had been his predecessor, Hashiba Satoshi's assistant before he'd been appointed to follow in his footsteps. In that time, he had seen his mentor ally with a mad man. Hashiba had, of course, been deceived by the man known as Kurata Akihiro, but he had also gotten into and done some unsavory things in his dealings with digimon. And what had it gotten him? Kurata betrayed him, and used the power of a digimon to wreck havoc. Hashiba was later stripped of his rank and removed from office, and only his lawyers had saved him from a long jail sentence.

Hongo had sworn that he'd try to not repeat Hashiba's mistakes. But the events with Kurata had also proven to him that no one could be allowed to have the awesome power of a digimon, even if they claimed they were working for the greater good.

That was why Hongo wasn't a happy man. He would have to violate both of those codes.

He mulled these facts over in his mind as he was led through a hallway by security, all inside a facility that wasn't public knowledge. The place was essentially a prison... Not just for people but for the remnants of a mad man's legacy. This included the monsters Kurata's ambitions had resulted in the capture of, and the ones he'd made himself.

And here he was, about to make a deal with one of them.

Eventually, he and his escorts stopped in front of a door. One of the guards input a key-code, which allowed them to open the door for Hongo. Hongo stepped through it, and was followed by a guard who carried a large steel case while the others stood watch outside.

The room was separated into two parts by a wall with a single large window. Sitting inside, cut off from them by the plate glass, was a haggard looking young man. He was blond, and his lower lip had a piercing. He wore a blue shirt with a yellow hood, which was now ripped and torn. And the expression on his face... was one of madness and hatred.

Hongo sat down at the counter just before the window, and the guard set the metal case beside him. Hongo reached forward, and pressed the button for the microphone that would allow the two of them to communicate with each other.

"You're an interesting man," said Hongo, pulling the case over to himself. "There is no official record of your existence, and yet, you've been causing trouble for quite some time. In fact, you've got quite a rap sheet... everything from being a public nuisance to traffic violations. And you even once attempted to assault a police officer..."

"That was no police officer," the young man hissed, throwing himself against the glass. "She was one of them... from DATS! Like Daimon!"

Hongo adjusted his glasses, waiting for the young man to be silent. In truth, he was quite shaken by what he had said. "Yes, well," said Hongo, his voice cracking. "Indeed she was. And she's also the reason why you're here today, though she's probably not aware of it. But then, that's what happens when you don't officially exist."

"I exist..." the man replied, his chest heaving. "I exist... and they took it all away from me... my power..."

"Oh, but you don't," replied Hongo. "Whoever you are... whoever you _were_, Kurata erased that when he made you into a monster, didn't he? You were different from the others, my friend. He plucked you out of nowhere, erased who you'd been, and made you into what he wanted. The others were just hires... desperate people, or at least, ones that were disturbed. But you... you, he took everything away from you."

"He _gave _me everything!" the prisoner shouted. "I was nothing... he let me be reborn! I hated who I was... I was weak! I was just a normal human... and he... he made me something great...!"

Hongo frowned. "Yes, well. Aren't you great now? In a cage, where you can't hurt anybody... _Kouki_. That's the name he gave to you, isn't it?"

The young man's eyes immediately focused on Hongo, and he nodded frantically. "Kouki... yes, that's it... my name's Kouki!."

Hongo sighed, and removed his glasses, setting them down on the table next to him. "Well then, Kouki," he began, "I think that I have something that may make you great again. All you have to do is follow our orders... and you'll have a chance to make up for everything you did, and for everything others put you through..."

And with that, Hongo began to open the case. Kouki watched, his eyes fixated on the box, as Hongo revealed its contents to be... an egg. A larger than normal, blue and yellow-colored egg. Kouki let out a cry, and stumbled back, falling onto his bed. To Hongo, it looked almost as if he was afraid of it...

... But that theory was proven wrong as Kouki leapt up to his feet and began to laugh. The young man began throwing himself about his chamber, literally bouncing himself off the walls as he wailed maniacally.

Somehow, Hongo couldn't help but feel like he'd made a deal with the devil.

-- --

Far from the island nation of Japan, events of a similar kind were occurring in the city of Moon Lake in Northern California. Two teenagers, both of them sixteen years of age, were walking through the forests that surrounded their modest-sized town. Both of them carried flashlights, and were of comparable height. The one leading the way was a girl with blond hair, and the young man following her had hair that was brown.

"Tara," said the boy, sounding as though he was bored with the situation. "We've been out here for about two hours now. Are you ready to pack it in, so we can go home? And you know, do things like _sleep?"_

The girl looked back at him, grinning. "That didn't work the first dozen times you said it, Dan, and it's not going to work the thirteenth."

Dan rolled his eyes at her, and sighed loudly. "Tara, whatever it is that happened out here after all the electronics went haywire, the military probably already took care of it when they were out here. Didn't you notice all that was going on? The trucks, the helicopters? All of the people asking questions? I'm not saying it isn't mysterious, Tara, but they were definitely thorough."

Tara shook her head. "Dan, are you sure you're my brother? Geez, you always back off whenever something exciting is going on. I swear, you were probably switched at birth, or something..."

The boy sighed yet again. "Tara, do you no how many times you've used that line? No, wait. Do you realize how much that line has been overused in the _history _of people using lines? Do you basically have _any _concept of how completely, _utterly _overdone your lines are? Now come on, Mom is probably worried about us."

That caused Tara to laugh. "Mom told us we could be out as long as we wanted to," she replied cheerily. "Those are the blessings that come from having a parent that's woefully irresponsible!"

Dan groaned, bringing a hand to his forehead. "Whatever you say, Sis," he replied, knowing fully that he'd exhausted his excuses to get them to give up and go home. And so, as he followed Tara, he couldn't help but think back on the events of the days prior, and what had brought them out into the woods that night.

It had happened at least half a week ago. It began with all of the electronics in town suddenly going crazy, and then becoming unusable. It had affected everything from cell phones to radios, and every possible household appliance. Then, after hearing numerous loud noises, confused people ventured out of their homes. Tara claimed to have personally seen a man in white armor flying through the sky. Then, it all culminated in a series of loud explosions.

The military arrived soon after. Moon Lake had become a swarming ground for the army, the national guard, and the FBI. Dan thought he had seen people in strange-looking, unidentifiable uniforms as well. It was like something out of a science fiction movie.

Or something like what had happened five and a half years before, when those 'monsters' had invaded the world.

But then, after they had combed the area for several days and questioned over half the town, they'd left as quickly as they'd came. It seemed the whole thing would be discussed for a while, and then completely forgotten.

But Tara wasn't showing any sign of that.

Suddenly, Dan was jerked out of his reminiscing by Tara crying out excitedly. He looked up sharply, and saw her running forward, he flashlight focused on something that was lying a few feet away. "Tara!" Dan cried, dashing forward. He passed his sister, and blocked her away.

"Dan!" Tara whined. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

Dan ignored her, and turned around. He searched with his flashlight... and found what Tara had been looking at. Sitting no further than five feet away was what looked like two giant easter eggs. One was colored reddish orange and had flame patterns on it, and the other was white with numerous teardrop patterns on it.

"Stay back. I'll check it out," Dan said to his sister. Tara scowled and crossed her arms, but did as she was told as Dan walked towards the eggs. Once he was right up near them, he kneeled down... and after hesitating a moment, put his hand on the red-colored egg.

It felt _warm._

Suddenly, a loud cracking sound filled the air. Dan instantly fell backwards, and cried out, as the egg he'd touched began to burst open. Bits of shell fell away, and a shape began to emerge from underneath it.

"Dan..." Tara breathed, her eyes wide. "What is that...?"

Dan's jaw was hanging open. "I... I don't know!" he cried, scrambling to his feet.

The upper half of the egg's shell fell away, and suddenly, the immediate area became filled by a warm glow. The creature that floated out of the egg was round-shaped, with several points coming off of it that made it look like a cartoonish drawing of a sun. The light and heat was coming off of a sizable flame that burned on the top of its body.

It looked at them, and spoke, saying a single, simple word.

"Sun... mon?"

**Digimon Savers  
****Balance of Power: The Return  
****By: Infinity Blade and Megaraptor the Scribe **

**END**

**To Be Continued in...  
****Balance of Power: New Mission  
****Balance of Power: Haunted Past  
****and  
****Balance of Power: A World Apart**

**_Mega Sez_:** **This is where the first stage of our story ends, everybody. We'd like to thank everyone for reading. Special thanks goes out to my good friends, Fullmetal Ai and DigiStar DBZ. They've both been willing to listen when I in particular wanted to run an idea for the series. And Fullmetal Ai has also been willing to read the story in advance before we post it up, so she deserves a bit of a hand for giving us early feedback as well.**

**Alright. Well. Where to begin? First off, this fic was always meant to serve as the establishment of the situations that would be present in the ongoing stories. So, as this story ends, so begins a whole new arc. Several in fact, which is why the next iterations of Balance of Power will be three individual stories.**

**First off... new characters. I realize not everyone is a fan of OCs, but we feel that they fit well enough when in reason. You have the figures in the government, Minister Nagano and Chief Hongo in particular, and the ones introduced here in the epilogue, and they'll have a role to play in the epilogue. Dan and Tara are particularly important, as they and the digimon they'll come to be associated play a big part in the events surrounding two groups. The key though, is to make sure everyone, OC or not, has a role to play, and that you strike a balance.**

**All without making anybody a Mary Sue or Gary Stu, of course.**

**Anyway, what's coming up next? Well, "New Mission" and "Haunted Past" all pick up a year after the events in this story. "New Mission" focuses on Masaru and Yoshino in Japan while "Haunted Past" deals with Touma working with DATS Austria. As for "A World Apart," it takes place in the same time frame as the others, but is set in the Digital World where Falcomon and the Royal Knights deal with the crisis there.**

**That said, it feels good to have worked on this story, even if it is a piece of a larger whole. For anyone familiar with our other attempt at an ongoing project, our not falling (yet) into the same traps as we did there is very refreshing. Here's hoping that we can keep it up.**

**That's all I have to say. Take it away, Infinity.**

_**Infinity Says:**_** WOO. We actually accomplished something!**

**Heh, truthfully, I personally think that Savers – in general – has inspired me more for writing, just in general, than any of the previous series in the franchise. Now, don't get me wrong. I love every season (mostly), and Tamers is still one of my absolute favorites... but I've grown to have an attachment to Savers' characters and world setting that's greater than any other iteration of the franchise. So I think that has a LOT to do with us actually getting stuff done here, on my end, and I think it's similar for Mega.**

**Now, one thing I do want to say... in regards to the oh so important aspect of _pairings_, since some people find it so important... If _all_ you are going to do in your reviews is pester us to include your OTP of choice, then we're likely going to ignore you at best, and block you at worse. Seriously. It's one thing to comment on something that is firmly established in the story (such as Ikuto & Chika) or speculate, but... we already know, basically, what will happen to all the characters in _Balance of Power_ in the end. Thus – although this is mainly an action/adventure story at heart – any pairings we may include in the story have _already been decided._ But because this ISN'T primarily a romance story (not to say there won't be any, mind you), we don't feel the need to make this long list of labels for such things. Not only would that spoil the HELL out of the storyline, but... it's not all about that. It's not the primary draw, at least in my mind.**

**Now, if you want to read about Masaru-tachi doing what they do best - kicking ass and taking names – then we've got you covered. There will be other things beyond just that, and certainly, some aspects that I'm sure won't appeal to everyone... but, really. Our first action for Masaru in this story is him punching a giant pig in the head. I think that should tell you something. Everything is meant to be generally in line with how these characters would actually act – so, no, Masaru's not really going to care about shacking up with anyone five minutes after arriving back in the Human World.**

**THAT said... thanks to all the reviewers, and everyone who's read but not reviewed, regardless. It's all appreciated, as all we're setting out to do is make the best Savers story we can – especially since it's in such short supply so far. So we hope everyone's enjoyed what's been put out so far, and hope you look forward to the three upcoming _Balance of Power_ series. We certainly are.**

(Oh, and to the reviewer "correcting" us on Lalamon's name... It can be either Raramon or Lalamon. Japanese R's and L's sound the same way. We prefer Lalamon because we think it fits more with her nature and origins. DATS subtitled it as Raramon for whatever reason they did, while Ryuu-Rogue chose Lalamon. It's just a matter of preference.)


End file.
